Tricked into Love
by Indiostar
Summary: First story so please review. Jiraiya is determined to get Tsunade to confess her love for him after returning to Konoha from his fight with Pain, which he survived. The road to love is a bumpy and twisted one, but can our Sannin prevail? Mild language.
1. Chapter 1:Tricked

**EDIT: I couldn't stand reading this, so I decided to clean it up. I really do hope my writing has improved from this, cuz this was just hard to read -_-**

Hey so it's my first fanfic and reviews are greatly appreciated but no hating! Constructive criticism is welcome though. Enjoy =]

Jiraiya is alive! I don't see why he couldn't just escape after he got the information so I'm gonna say that he did because I can. I Luvs Jiraiya and believe that since he's a frog guy he can live underwater and is still alive.

Don't own Naruto

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Tsunade glared at the paperwork that loomed before her. She hated this part of the job, hated it with a burning passion that shined brighter than the combined might of a thousand suns. The only thing that kept her sane was a good friend that she knew as alcohol. Without it, she would have surely killed everyone in the general vicinity.

There was a knock at the door that pulled her out of her thoughts. Looking up with a sigh, she told them to come in. A very excited and somewhat anxious Shizune walked in with a hop in her step. "Tsunade-sama!" she exclaimed gleefully, catching the worn Hokage's attention. "You'll never guess whose here," she continued, "Jiraiya-sama has come back!"

Tsunade froze. Had she heard right? There was no way he could have…

Shizune ushered in the tall man, shutting the door behind him to give the two their privacy, and also not wanting to be caught in Tsunade's wrath if things turned out for the worst. Tsunade stared at the doorway absently, which was blocked by Jiraiya's figure, confirming that she did hear right. She could faintly see him walking toward her, but wasn't sure since unwelcome tears began to flood her eyes, blurring her vision completely. She turned her head down, not wanting him to see her cry, hoping she could hide her emotions behind her long blonde bangs.

Jiraiya knew she was crying and smirked. It brought him guilty pleasure to see her try to keep her sobs contained. If it were any other time, he would feel his heart drag at seeing her in such a state, but these tears were for him, and it was about damn time. "Nice to see you too Hime," he said at her lack of greeting, laughing softly to himself. Was it wrong to be laughing at her when she was down like this? _No, _he decided, _I just want my fun with her._

"How can you come back like nothing happened?" Tsunade asked as she pressed the back of her hand to her mouth in an attempt to bight back the tears. "How can you pretend you haven't caused me _HELL_ by going away on that mission? You were gone for so long and I thought… but here you are now, standing in front of me with that obnoxious smirk on your face, the one that you always give me when I'm worried sick about you." her head shot up and she glared at him with puffy red eyes that had hot tears streaming freely down her cheeks.

He was a little taken back by how hurt she was, and felt guilt start to wrap its cold hands around his heart. She stood and turned her back to him, looking at Konoha through her floor to ceiling window, hugging herself loosely. Jiraiya looked at her uneasily, watching her small shoulders shake from her sobs. He slowly walked up to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, but was instantly swatted away by her own petite one. Her sobs died down and rage began to replace her sorrow. She spun around and punched him hard in the stomach, sending him sprawling on his back. She stomped towards him, lifting the frightened man by his lapels despite the obvious size difference.

"Oi oi! Hime, don't do anything stupid! I'm still fragile!" he pleaded, stopping her just as she pulled her arm back for another punch. She dropped him with a thud.

"Bastard, asshole," she muttered to herself as she walked back to her desk. She could feel another wave of tears start to take over her body, but let out a steady breath and slowly got over them. She sank into her chair angrily, refusing to look at the man as he struggled to get up. She heard a chair scrapping the floor and soon found Jiraiya sitting in front of her. His intense stare started to make her uncomfortable, and she decided she would rather have him talking than boring holes into her with his heated gaze. She also knew that he was annoying enough to just stare at her until she decided to talk.

"So what did you learn," she asked tensely, still fuming. He leaned forward and rested his face in his hand, looking at her with his signature grin. She hated that grin. It made her want to punch his stupid face in.

"Well," he drawled, obviously trying to get on her nerves, which didn't take much, especially for him. "It's a lot to say and I think I would rather discuss it somewhere more," he paused to look around, "formal, than this. You are the Hokage after all, and I feel that, as a shinobi, I must treat my Hokage with the utmost respect, loyalty, and appreciation." She rolled her eyes, wondering when his "respect" would look up from her chest. "So how bout' it Hime," he said with a sly half smile, "will we continue this at din-"

"No. Either tell me what you found out now or send it to me in a scroll so I can look at it later."

"I think you're going to want to hear what I have to say Hime, instead of just reading it on a piece of paper anyways," he insisted, losing the grin for a more serious look. She looked at him full on for the first time, staring into the obsidian eyes that comforted her throughout the years. She noticed his face was weary, not as full of life and laughter like usual, and it worried it her slightly. She kept her look firm though, shooting him the icy glare that she perfected so long ago just for him. She opened her mouth to make another retort, but was quickly cut off.

"I met Pain," he said bluntly, his mouth a hard line. Tsunade choked on whatever words she was about to say and stared at him with wide amber eyes, too shocked to speak. "I fought him actually," Jiraiya corrected casually. Tsunade's eyes got even wider, if that was possible.

"w-w-w-w-," she rubbed her temple by habit and let out a shaky breath. "Jiraiya!" she exclaimed, startling him as she slammed her hands down on the table, standing over him menacingly. "You're telling me this_ now_? What the hell is wrong with you, you stupid, stupid idiot!" Jiraiya winced at the insult but let her continue with her rant. "Pain, Konoha's biggest threat, could be out there right now, planning our demise and you want to talk about it over _dinner_?" she looked at him expectantly, waiting for a reply.

He nodded his head, "Yeah, that's about right."

Tsunade dropped her hands at her side, not believing what she was hearing. "You're and idiot. The biggest idiot I've ever met in fact. Congratulations." She started to pace, hand running through her hair to push her bangs back. Jiraiya watched, clearly amused as she muttered to herself, mostly calling him crude names that he would rather not repeat. Finally, she stopped and glared at him before stomping his way and continually smacking her balled fist against his chest with each word she said. "You. Are. So. Annoying! Ugh!"

He grabbed her wrist, mostly because he would rather have his already aching body in less pain, and stopped her assault, keeping his grip firm. "Calm down Hime," he complained, instantly regretting it when he saw her murderous intent click behind her eyes.

"Don't tell me to calm down you big oaf! I worry about you when you go on missions like that just because you're so stupid! Let go of me!" she struggled in his grip but couldn't get out no matter how hard she tried. Jiraiya held her arms above her head, watching her panting form start to give up.

"You done?" he asked as she scowled up at him.

"I hate you," she seethed through gritted teeth.

He smiled and leaned in just to bug her, "I know. Now I'm taking this as a yes to dinner, so I'll pick you up tomorrow. Wouldn't want to wait on information this vital," he said with a wide grin as her look darkened. He let go of her wrists, letting them drop to her side as she restrained from bringing her knee up hard to hit him where it matters. He wasn't going to take no for an answer, much to her horror, and she had no choice but to give in. _Do it for the village_, she kept repeating to herself over and over again.

"Fine," she said with a sigh. That was all her needed for his heart to go soaring.

"Come on Hime, it won't be that bad! And besides, it's not like this is the first time you've ever had dinner with me." _And hopefully not the last, _he noted to himself. Tsunade didn't even want to know why he was so giddy all of a sudden. It was only dinner anyways, right?

"Just pick somewhere good. I need to relax," she said with a groan.

"All the more reason for you to go. Have I ever shown you a bad time?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" she asked with her eyebrow raised.

"Not really," he replied cheerfully. The sun was setting behind him and he didn't want to keep her up, so with a quick kiss to her forehead, right where her diamond was, he hopped out the window, barely avoiding the punch that was sure to do damage.

Tsunade leaned out the window angrily to find him giving her a wave from a nearby rooftop. "Night Hime," he called out, getting a rather crude hand gesture in response before the Hokage slammed the window shut.

As she was packing her things to go home she found a small, folded up piece of paper on her desk. The handwriting inside was unmistakable. Jiraiya left her a note reading:** I'll pick you up at 8:00. Dress sexy cuz' it's a date!**

Underneath the writing was a small drawing of a frog winking as it blew her a kiss. Wondering when he had time to write it without her noticing, she crumpled into a small ball and threw it with more force than necessary into the recycling bin. "Asshole," she grumbled as she locked the office door, "tricking me into a date like that." _Not that I had much of a choice,_ she thought sullenly. Why did the best ninja in the village have to be her perverted teammate? Why couldn't Kakashi be the one to get the information?

_Because no one's as good as Jiraiya, _she answered herself with a frown, knowing from firsthand experience what he was capable of despite the way he carried himself, seeming like nothing more than a pervert. She plopped onto her bed once she changed and cleaned up for the night. All she could think about was the date that she had the next day. When was the last time she'd been out on a date?

She didn't even want to know. Her lack of a love life was something she preferred to not think about. And even though it was with Jiraiya, someone who knew her better than herself, she couldn't help but feel anxious, excited even. The thought of going out on a date with him also made her shudder. She told herself she was going to tell her she felt the same was when he got back, so why couldn't she do it now.

_Easier said than done_, she thought with a groan. Was she seriously losing sleep over that idiot. Ne, she refused to accept that. However, even through her denial, she finally went to sleep with Jiraiya in mind, his voice lulling her softly until she woke the next morning.

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**EDIT: Much better. Now I can at least stand to look at it. I only meant to tweak it but ended up re-doing the entire chapter… Anyways.**

**Thanks for reading, reviews are appreciated, and have a nice day =]**


	2. Chapter 2:Date Night

Okay! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last story. I've been brainstorming on where to take the story and you guys are welcome to give suggestions. I don't really know how ninjas dress up when they go on dates so let's just pretend that they wear normal clothes. Also they eat pasta in the ninja world because without pasta we die. Have fun =]

Don't own naruto

Tsunade looked at her reflection in the mirror and did a couple turns to see how she looked from different angles. _Not too bad_, she thought as she went to grab her purse. She was wearing a strapless black dress that cut off right above the knee and hugged her body like a second skin. She matched it with black four inch heels and golden loop earrings. She pinned her hair up into an intricate bun atop her head. She decided to dress up since she hadn't really worn anything that you would consider _sexy _in years. She locked the door of her apartment and started walking downtown to where Jiraiya said he would meet her.

Jiraiya was checking out his latest novel when he heard the click clack of heels on hard pavement. He looked back and could have sworn that his eyes were bulging out of his head. He coughed awkwardly and smirked as his eyes roamed up and down Tsunade's body, soaking in every curve and dip.

Tsunade almost didn't recognized Jiraiya if it weren't for his mane of white hair. He stood there clad in a nice light blue button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of black slacks. She couldn't help but laugh at how strange it was to see her teammate in anything aside from those heavy robes that he constantly wore.

"What?" Jiraiya asked as Tsunade came up with her hand over her mouth to restrain her giggles. His eyes slid down to her breast by habit and was amazed at how that dress could hold them in, considering that it was cut lower than her normal clothes... if that was even possible

"Nothing, nothing." Tsunade replied and looked up at him. She felt like a bubbly school girl again and couldn't help skip a bit as they walked to the restaurant.

"You look nice Hime. Why don't you dress up more often?" Jiraiya asked, looking down at her small figure.

"So pigs like you don't get any funny ideas." She replied without looking up.

Jiraiya laughed and nodded thoughtfully."I know better than to mess with you Hime, unlike most other men."

The two walked into the restaurant and were seated immediately. The restaurant was a rather expensive one and was known to have excellent food. Tsunade didn't worry about the price, knowing how much money Jiraiya made from his porn books.

"So," Jiraiya started in a serious tone, "Let's get down to business shall we. From what I observed, Pain has multiple forms and can apparently revive himself. One of the bodies has already been deposited to the autopsy lab, as you already know. I didn't recognize all of them, but one of them you know." Tsunade's eyebrows knit together and she thought back to anyone that she might know that would become an Akatsuki leader.

She gave up and asked," Who was it? I can't think of anyone."

The waiter came by with their sake and they nodded in thanks and poured each other a cup. Jiraiya gulped his sake down and let out a content sigh." Do you remember the three orphans we met in the rain village?" he asked. Tsunade thought for a while and let out a small gasp when it came to her.

"The three who you trained for a year?" she took a sip of her sake too to calm her nerves a bit. She'd been a little anxious since they got there.

Jiraiya nodded and continued." Well on of them held the fabled Rinnengan sage eyes." Tsunade's eyes widened and she looked at him in awe.

"He couldn't possibly be the leader of Akatsuki, how are we supposed to stand against a man with that kind of kekkai gankai?" Tsunade asked with a worried look. _What kind of power_ _does one posses with that kind of technique? _Tsunade thought with a sick feeling in her stomach.

Jiraiya just shook his head and shrugged his shoulders." I really don't know, but I did learn something in the midst of battle." He lowered his voice, making Tsunade edge closer." The real Pain isn't there. They may have had the same eyes as Nagato, but none of them held even a shred of resemblance. One of the Pains looked like one of the other orphans that I trained though, Yuhiko. What gets me is that Yuhiko didn't have the Rinnengan when he was little, but has it now." Jiraiya leaned back and took another hit of his sake. Tsunade was trying to grasp what he was saying, but couldn't come up with any logical explanation.

She sighed and massaged her temples."What does it all mean though? How can there be more than one Rinnengan user? None of this makes any sense." Tsunade looked up at a frowning Jiraiya.

"When does anything in this world make sense Hime?" Jiraiya replied in a whisper. The waiter came around with their food and seemed to brighten the two up a bit. It's always hard to worry about humanity with an empty stomach. The two thanked the waiter and sniffed in the heavenly scent that was pasta.

"Why do you always call me Hime?" Tsunade asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Because you're the granddaughter of the first Hokage, making you a princess," Jiraiya replied with a mouth full of pasta.

"But you're the only one that calls me that. Besides, I'm the Hokage now and that makes me the queen, not princess."Tsunade said defiantly. Jiraiya chuckled a bit.

"I guess you're right. But you'll always be** my **Hime. Which makes me your knight in shining armour, always there to protect you." Jiraiya said, looking straight into her eyes. Tsunade averted his heavy gaze and drank more sake, hoping to pass her deep blush off as being drunk.

"Shut up Baka. You sound like a bad soap opera." Was all she said before going back to eating, still trying to cover her rosy cheeks.

By the time they were finished eating, the two were both drunk and laughing nonstop. Jiraiya paid the bill and helped Tsunade out of her seat. She was leaning on him the whole way to prevent her from tripping and falling. They were walking downtown but no one gave them a second look, knowing how their Hokage got sometimes.

Jiraiya tugged Tsunade a bit and led her to a place that she had never seen before." Come on," he said," I wanna show you something." He guided her through an open forest, having to catch her a couple times due to her heels getting caught in the tree roots. She finally decided to take them off and walk barefoot.

Jiraiya led them to a bridge that crossed a lake that was filled with koi fish whose scales reflected a rainbow of color in the moonlight. He had sobered up a bit and leaned on the rail. Tsunade looked around in wonder." It's beautiful." She whispered." I've never been to this part of the village before. Where are we?"

Jiraiya turned so his back was facing the river and leaned his head back to look at the stars that shown bright. "No one knows about this place but me. I used to come here as a gennin. It's an abandoned hot spring that was forgotten over time. It's nice huh? "Tsunade nodded and went to look at the fish below. She was getting more sober by the minute and didn't like it one bit. They stood in silence for a while, not wanting to break the serene environment. Jiraiya's shirt was opened a bit and Tsunade couldn't help but noticed the scars all over his chest. She bit her lip and slowly said,

"Jiraiya… I'm really sorry for making you go out on your own. You barely got back alive and I don't know what I'd do if…" she trailed off. Jiraiya looked at her questionably then looked down to see his scars were showing. He pulled his shirt closed and laughed.

"What? These? These are nothing. Not even a tickle." He sound reassuring but she could see the pain in his eyes.

She glared at him and threatened," Don't even try to lie with me." He stopped laughing and rubbed the back of his head.

"Fine, guess you always want to do it the hard way. Pain was the hardest opponent I had ever fought. Not even Hanzo was as hard to fight as Pain. In fact, Hanzo was killed by Pain." Tsunade thought back to when they were younger, before Orochimaru became pedophile bent on living forever, before their teacher had died, before she left the village. Hanzo was the one that gave them the title of Sannin and almost killed the entire village. Jiraiya made it seem like Pain was able to swat him like a fly.

Jiraiya interrupted her thoughts."Hey, I have a crazy idea." Tsunade looked up at him to see that there was a twinkle in his eye, just like when they were little.

Tsunade rolled her eyes and looked at him with her head cocked to the side like he was some little kid trying to get her attention. "What now?" she asked with an exasperated sigh. She knew how all of Jiraiya's ideas ended and wasn't exactly jumping for joy.

Jiraiya looked at her through lidded eyes and with a crooked smile said," we should go swimming in the lake." Tsunade tried to punch him but he caught her wrist._ Why is it that I haven't been able to get a good punch in since the last couple days, _she wondered. Jiraiya rolled his eyes and in an annoyed voice said," I'm not just trying to see you naked. I just thought that it'd be fun. Now are you going to play nice from now on?" he asked and let go of her wrist.

She yanked her arm back and huffed." No promises. And that's one of the stupidest ideas ever. I am not getting wet in these clothes. And I'm sure as hell not gonna' skinny dip with you here."

Jiraiya smirked," does that mean that you'd do it if I wasn't here? I mean I could always walk away for a minute and-"

"Oh shut up!" Tsunade yelled. Jiraiya just laughed. He checked his watch and sighed._ It was fun while it lasted,_ he thought.

"We should go Hime, its getting pretty late." He said as he turned around to start walking back. Tsunade followed, heels in hand. They walked back in silence. All the shops had already closed and the only light that shone was from the moon. Tsunade was watching the little details that made Jiraiya him. The way he slouched a bit with his hands in his pockets. The way he shuffled his feet, probably because he wasn't used to wearing shoes that weren't 6 inches off the ground. _I wonder how his hair got that long. How does he clean hair like that? Or even brush it for that matter. And what the hell is with those weird lines on his face?_ Tsunade wondered, but shrugged and let it go.

Jiraiya was doing the same with Tsunade, _how the hell do boobs get that big? Not that I'm complaining. _Jiraiya thought as he looked down at the small women. He'd always loved the way she carried herself, like she had nothing to prove. Whenever he looked at her face his eyes always unintentionally focused on the small purple triangle at the top of her thing that he loved the most was her eyes. They could either be soft honey drops or hard amber stones.

They stopped at the front of her apartment and stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do next. Tsunade took the lead by unlocking her door," well I guess I'll see you-"she was spun around harshly and felt something soft on her lips. She gasped and her eyes widened it took her a second for her brain to register what was happening.

_Well at least she's not fighting back so that's a plus, _Jiraiya thought, that is until he felt a hard shove to his chest. The two separated and were gasping for air. Tsunade had a glare that could kill, and had the strength to back it up.

"Hime I'm so-"Jiraiya started but was interrupted by a hard slap to the face. He reeled and rubbed his cheek. _Damn, that hurt more than her punches,_ he thought and winced. He tried again, "Hime, I know-"

"Don't talk." She interrupted sharply. "You're not even worth a punch you pig." With that she slammed the door, leaving Jiraiya with a throbbing cheek and a bleeding heart.

He backed away and whispered," Good night Hime. I love you too," and walked away.

Ahhhhh ;( it broke my heart to write this. A little longer than the last one and more dramatic in my opinion. I didn't really know how ninjas go on dates in general so I'm making it my way. I also tried to keep Tsunade in character but it's really hard, especially since we never really get to see much of her romantic side in the manga. As always, reviews are welcome with open arms and I hope you liked it. Also I'm sorry for any spelling errors. It's like 100 degrees and I can't think straight. Thanks for reading! =]


	3. Chapter 3: Road Trip

Road trip! Konoha was getting cramped so I'm taking it to the open road. I hope you like this chapter because it's not as dramatic. Have fun =]

Don't own Naruto

Tsunade stared out the large window behind her desk, deep in thought. She replayed the events from last night over and over again in her head. It nagged her constantly, making it impossible to get any work done which resulted in the stacks of paperwork that were thrown askew all over her desk. She was pulled out of her thoughts by a hawk that flew in with a scroll tied to its ankle. Curious to what the scroll said, she untied it, earning a vicious nip from the bird's sharp beak. _Damn birds, _she thought as she sucked her finger and opened the scroll. Tsunade examined the symbol on the top and registered it to be a letter from the Raikage. She read the scroll, her eyebrows pulling closer together the more she read it. When she had reached the bottom a second time, she called for Shizune who stumbled in no more than a minute later.

"What is it Lady Tsunade?" she asked between pants. Tsunade replied by handing her the note. When she had finished she looked up and asked, "What are you going to do?"

Tsunade simply stood up and stared out the window again with her hand crossed loosely behind her back. She was having an internal debate on what she would do, weighing the pros and cons of her choices. She bit her lip and hesitantly said," Call Jiraiya, tell him it's urgent." Shizune bowed before walking out the door. The Hokage sighed and rested her head in her arms on her desk._ There's no better person, unfortunately…_ her head shot up at the sound of someone knocking against her window.

"Can't you come in like a normal person every now and then?" she said, already knowing who it was. The tall man scoffed and sat down in front of her desk.

"Can't you ever give me a message without it being urgent? I owe Naruto now because of you." Tsunade ignored him and handed him the letter she received. Jiraiya snatched it and read it thoroughly. When he was finished he tossed it back on the desk, crossing his arms.

After a moment of Jiraiya looking at her with a blank expression, she said impatiently, "So? What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking why the hell did you call me up here? That letter has nothing to do with me; you're the Hokage, in case you forgot." He retorted with a snort.

Tsunade pointed at one of the lines in the letter impatiently," 'all the Kages need a bodyguard that they trust their life with to attend the meeting' I'm asking you to go to the Hokage meeting with me as my bodyguard you baka." She quoted with a glare.

Jiraiya chuckled darkly," I'm honored that you trust your life with me but I can't say I'm all too willing to trek halfway across the globe to be stuck in a room full of snobby leaders. Plus I have to finish training Naruto. So my answer is thank you but, no. Have a nice day Hime." He stood up and started walking towards the door but was stopped when he was pulled harshly backwards and slammed against a wall. His eyes shot open and looked down to see Tsunade grabbing the lapels of his shirt while wearing one of her signature icy glares.

Tsunade pulled herself so close to his face that he could smell the floral shampoo in her hair."Fine then, I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. If you don't drag your fat ass to that meeting with me, I swear to god I'll shove one of my slugs down your throat, along with my fist." She threatened as she let go of his shirt to walk back to her desk and grab a report to turn in to the anbu." So, I guess I'll meet you at the front gates tomorrow moning at 9:00." She said cheerfully before walking out the door. Jiraiya stared at the doorway with his mouth gaping and his forehead wrinkled in a confused manner. _What the hell just happened? _He thought but only he sighed and fixed his clothes before walking out.

Tsunade told Shizune to keep her updated on everything that happened while she was gone. Shizune kept insisting on going with them but to no avail as Tsunade kept saying she needed someone to watch over the village. When she got home she packed everything that she might need on her trip, extra clothes, shampoo, etc. when she was satisfied with what she packed, she changed into her pajamas before slowly falling asleep.

Jiraiya woke up the next morning to the obnoxious screech of his alarm clock. He got up reluctantly and took a shower to start the day. He came out and got dressed, examining himself in the mirror when he was done. He ran his hand through the unruly white hair and tied it in a ponytail before grabbing his bag and locking the door.

When Tsunade made it to the gates she was greeted by a groggy Jiraiya." Mornin' Hime." He grumbled while rubbing his eyes. Tsunade simply walked past him and told the guards where they were going. They bowed respectfully and waved goodbye to their Hokage.

"How long will it take to get there?" Jiraiya asked with a yawn.

"At least a week, why are you so tired? It's already 9 o'clock." She looked up at her slouching bodyguard and thought;_ the other Kages probably have a whole team of bodyguards, while I on the other hand insisted on only bringing __**this**__. _She sighed, she knew Jiraiya was the best bodyguard there was though. He had protected her so many times before and she knew he would do anything to keep her safe.

Jiraiya mumbled something before saying," Well I'm sorry if I didn't get enough sleep last night. Maybe I would have if you hadn't forced me to go on this trip with you. Do you know how long it took for me to pack?" he asked moodily.

"Okay, I'm sorry I asked. You're such a diva." She said obnoxiously.

They mostly talked about Naruto and how much he reminded them of his father, the fourth Hokage. They stopped at a small inn when the sun started to sink. Jiraiya unlocked the door to the small room and his heart dropped.

_There's only one bed, _and groaned when he realized Tsunade will most definitely make him sleep on the floor tonight. Tsunade dropped her bag by the door and flopped onto the bed in exhaustion. Jiraiya dropped his bag next to Tsunade's and sat next to her on the bed. Tsunade quickly pushed him off the edge, making him thump onto the hard ground." What the hell?" he rubbed his side and glared at his Hokage. Tsunade matched his glare with her own and pointed to the floor.

"Don't **even **I'm your going to sleep in the same bed as me." She stated threateningly.

Jiraiya smirked,"Oh you'd like that wouldn't you?" he teased before grabbing his pajamas."I'm jumping in the shower so no peeking." He said before closing the door behind him.

"You wish." She said to herself before lying on the bed again. She grabbed the book that she had brought out of her bag and began reading it. Before she knew it, she was asleep with the book lying across her chest.

When Jiraiya walked out of the steam filled bathroom he smiled at the sight of Tsunade sprawled all over the bed. He carefully grabbed the book of her chest and sucked in air as his hand brushed over her breast. When he was sure he didn't wake her up he let out the air and placed the book on the bedside drawer. He covered her with the blanket and grabbed the pillow that she wasn't using. He made a makeshift bed in the reclining chair by the window before turning the lights off and drifting to sleep.

Tsunade woke up the next morning and looked around confused until she remembered that she was staying at an inn. She pushed the blankets off of her and froze stock still as the cold morning assaulted her body. She looked over to see Jiraiya drooling all over with his head hanging back. She chuckled and grabbed the blanket she had been using to cover him. She grabbed her clothes and wash to take a nice hot shower.

Jiraiya woke up with a jolt and looked around quickly before dropping his head back down on the pillow and snuggling into the warm blanket. His eyes shot open again when he realized Tsunade wasn't there. He jumped out of the chair but relaxed when he heard the spraying sound of water from the shower. He lied down on the bed while resting his head in his hands and closing his eyes.

Tsunade walked out of the bathroom already dressed with a towel on top of her head. She dried her hair a bit before taking the towel off and throwing it at Jiraiya, who in turn freaked out and rolled off the bed. Tsunade laughed as he got up with a scowl." You really want me to draw on you in your sleep don't you?" he said as he threw the towel back at her.

She caught it and tossed it on the bathroom floor." I just couldn't help it." She said and started giggling again when she saw what he was wearing. _Froggy pajamas. Nice_.

"What?" he said clearly annoyed that he didn't get the joke.

"Nothing, nothing." She replied." You need to get dressed; we're leaving in an hour." Jiraiya stretched his long limbs and grabbed his clothes to get changed. Tsunade tied her hair in two long pigtails like she normally did. Jiraiya came out fully dressed and pulled his backpack onto his back.

"Let's go eat, I'm starving." He said as he rubbed his grumbling stomach. Tsunade agreed and grabbed her bag, making sure to double check everything just in case they forgot something. Once they locked the door and returned the keys, they walked to a local tea shop. Once both of them finished, they started walking again.

Jiraiya broke their silence by asking, "So why do they want all the Kages to meet again?"

Tsunade thought for a while before answering, "Probably because of Akastuki. I heard that they got the eight tailed beast this time, which leaves only-"

"Naruto." He finished with a frown. He wasn't exactly fond of the idea that Nagato, his former student, could attack any moment now while they were away."What happened to that Uchiha boy by the way?" he asked.

"Sasuke Uchiha is as much a threat to Konoha as Pain, even if Naruto doesn't want to believe it." She replied stiffly, as if it bothered her to talk about it. It did bother her because she knew they would bring him up at the meeting, considering that he was the one who captured the eighth Jinchuriki, who also happened to be the Raikage's brother. That only made matters worse. She didn't need the Land of Lightning hating Konoha because one of their rogue ninja captured the Raikage's brother.

They came across a bustling town just outside the border of Land of Fire to stop at. It wasn't getting dark but the two didn't feel like walking another step. Besides, they had made pretty good progress over the past two days."Jiraiya, please get a nice hotel this time." Tsunade pleaded.

Jiraiya scoffed and looked at her with big eyes."You really think I'm sleeping on a chair again? I don't think so, we're getting two beds." He stomped ahead of her and stopped abruptly in front of a beautiful resort, making Tsunade run into him with an oomph.

She looked up, about to yell at him but stopped when she saw a twinkle in his eye as he admired the five star resort."It's beautiful." He whispered before getting shoved to the side.

"You're so pathetic." Tsunade said with a smile."Hurry up Baka, they have a spa and I need a rest." Jiraiya skipped ahead of her like a little kid in a toy store. Tsunade just laughed and followed.

When Tsunade walked inside she was blown away by how beautiful and clean it was. She walked next to the Jiraiya while looking around with her jaw hanging open."How did you find this place?" she asked in a whisper.

Jiraiya grabbed the card to open the hotel door and looked at Tsunade with a wide smile still plastered on his face."You find a lot of things when you travel and this is an exclusive hotel that only a couple of people know about. I just happen to be one of , and I hope you like suites because that's what you're getting." Tsunade's eyes widened and she looked up to meet Jiraiya's gaze.

"You got a suite? Why? We're only going to be here for one night you know."

Jiraiya said with a sly smile and hooded eyes, "Says you. We deserve a little break, think of this as your vacation Hime. Besides, we still have a week left! What will we do if we get there early huh? There is nothing to do in Lightning land. I'm doing you a favor Hime, your welcome."

Tsunade looked at him incredulously. "You can't be serious. This isn't some joy trip; we're supposed to be on official Kage business. We don't have time to be getting pedicures!"

Jiraiya looked at her with a blank expression, "I'll order you a massage."

"I'm sure the Raikage can wait. It's his fault he called the meeting last minute."

Jiraiya let out a deep chuckle while opening the door, "I knew you couldn't resist." He said with a smirk. He walked in and immediately jumped on one of the beds."FINALLY! It's tempurpedic too!" he let out a deep sigh and let his shoes fall off with a _clunk._

Tsunade set her bag down at the foot of the bed and plopped down, taking her heels off too."How the hell do you walk in those? Mine are 4 inches so yours have to at least be 7." He cracked an eye open to look at her.

"Nothing of mine is under 7 inches babe," he said sensually.

"You're such a pig!" she yelled before hitting his face with a pillow, too tired to get up and punch him. He laughed and grabbed her pillow to pull her closer. He was staring deep into her amber eyes, boring holes into her soul. She squirmed under his intense stare and was about to push him away but was interrupted.

"You could find out if you gave me a chance." He said barely loud enough for her hear. She looked at him in disbelief. He'd hit on her every now and then but this was completely different, like he was asking her for something deeper. She tore herself from him and got up, avoiding his gaze.

"I'm going to go get some sake."She could still feel him looking at her but she didn't care. She needed time to herself so she could think. She waited for a response and looked back when she didn't hear anything. What she saw tugged at her heart. Jiraiya was smiling bitterly at her, pain clear on his face. She knew he was trying to hide it from her, but the pain that she had caused all these years was becoming too much for him. The perfect façade that he kept was starting to crack and she could tell she was making it worse.

"I'm going to the sauna." He said while grabbing a towel." Just charge everything on my tab." He walked past her and left.

Tsunade walked into the bar and ordered a bottle of sake, having to charge it to Jiraiya's tab since she forgot her money in the hotel. The bartender came back and nearly dropped the bottle when he realized who he was serving."Hokage-sama!" he exclaimed, "why are you alone? Shouldn't you have a bodyguard with you?"

Tsunade glared at him," Don't remind me" she growled, scaring the bartender off. She gulped the sake down and slammed it back down on the table with an exhale. She stared at the sake bottle with knit brows, remembering the look on Jiraiya's face before she left. _I can't keep doing this to him._ She thought and took another swig of sake, making a slight shade of pink come to her cheeks.

By the time she was done with the whole bottle her cheeks were a bright red, there was a slur in her talk, and a swerve in her walk. She stumbled out the door and back to the hotel. _Ugh, my feet hurt like hell and my head is pounding. I need a nice soak,_ she thought as she walked towards the spa. She grabbed a towel and after undressing, wrapped it around her. It was already midnight so she didn't expect anyone else to be in there. The steam hit her like a wave and sobered her up pretty quick. She dropped her towel and slid slowly into the hot water, letting it wash away her worries and making her relax. She slid in until her head was just above the water and closed her eyes. She stayed like that for a while until she saw movement in the water causing little waves. She opened her eyes and squinted to try and get a good look through the steam. All she could make out was a big, broad figure, which was weird because this was the women's spa. . . . Right? . . .

_Oh shit. _Tsunade looked around frantically and stopped to read the sign on the wall. **Mixed baths.** Tsunade quickly covered her chest by habit_ oh like that's going to do you any good stupid, _she scolded herself and started to get out but stopped when the steam cleared, making it possible to see the mystery figure that was sharing a bath with her.

Tsunade's stomach dropped to the floor, because sitting there with his head leaning on a towel and his eyes closed_, thankfully,_ was Jiraiya. He was sleeping with his arms leaning on the edges of the spa, leaving his chest bare. Tsunade's breath caught in her throat when she saw all the scars that crossed his chest. She slowly moved forward, careful not to lift her chest out of the water, and examined them closer. She could see his broad chest rising and falling slowly and heard his steady breath. Her hand covered her mouth as her hand tentatively ghosted over the large almost star shaped scar that covered most of his chest. _From the kyubi I'm guessing, _she thought to herself. She moved her way down to the multiple puncture marks and winced at the thought of Pain doing this. She couldn't help but think, _Wow, I never knew Jiraiya had a six pack._

Jiraiya felt something tickling his chest but ignored it. He felt it again and cracked his eyes open irritably. He wasn't expecting any guests, especially short tempered blondes that he was supposed to be protecting."Hime?" he said sleepily.

Tsunade Jumped at her name and pulled her hand away quickly like he was a fire."Jiraiya!" she exclaimed in surprise." I was just- I- I was on my way but I- you –"she stuttered then groaned due to her loss of words. She huffed and looked up wearily into his midnight black eyes."Who did this to you?" she said in barely a whisper.

The first thing Jiraiya wanted to ask was "are you naked?" but decided against it. Instead he gave her a stern look and replied," This is just the body of a worn ninja Hime. I thought you would have recognized it by now."

Tsunade bit her lip and placed her hand over his chest. She could feel the scarred tissue and worn muscles. He was right; ninja have to live a life of pain. Everyone but her anyways. She always has people like Jiraiya to take her pain for her. She had completely forgotten that she was naked in front of Jiraiya and frankly, she didn't care.

She snapped back to reality when she felt his hand on top of hers." One thing they can never touch though is this." He moved her hand over his heart. She could feel the strong _thump_ of his heart and couldn't help but keep her hand there. It was like her body didn't want her to pull away. She looked into his eyes again and got lost in them. They were an endless abyss and kept her trapped there.

He leaned in hesitantly, being sure not to make any body contact in fear of being pummeled then drowned. He brushed his lips against hers, barely making contact, being sure that she would be okay with it.

Tsunade let out a tiny gasp when she felt his lips brush on hers. She hesitated a moment, not knowing what to do. She was afraid to love again, afraid she would lose it again. _Oh screw it_, she thought before flattening her body against his, making him jump. She deepened the kiss and tangled her free hand in his hair. She could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest and smiled.

When Tsunade flattened her body against his, Jiraiya gasped, marveling at the feeling of her breast pressed against his chest. The two of them pulled apart, gasping for air. Tsunade looked into his eyes once more and saw the undying love that he has waited so long to give her. Jiraiya rested his forehead against hers and placed his hands gently onto her cheeks, smiling.

"Aren't you happy you asked me to be your bodyguard?" Tsunade smiled back.

"Hey, you're the one that didn't want to come." she countered. Jiraiya just chuckled and dropped his hands.

"I'm gonna' get out, I'm already turning pruny. No peaking." Tsunade rolled her eyed and closed them. When she opened them back up she saw Jiraiya reaching in and pulling her out.

"Jiraiya! Put me down!" she hit his chest but he just laughed.

"Feisty, aren't we? Do you think they'll get mad if they see us walking around naked? Well, you naked." He looked down at her with a devious smile and started to carry her out.

"Oh no you aren't, Jiraiya if you bring me out there I'm going to kill you!" Tsunade tried to get out but he held on to her tight.

"Don't worry. If anyone sees us I'll cover you." He said and walked out. Tsunade was about to scream but her voice got caught in her throat when the cold night air rushed over her. She shut her eyes close and buried herself closer against her protector's warm chest. She could hear a deep chuckle come from him as it vibrated through her. They finally got to the room after what seemed like hours and Jiraiya opened the door. He walked in and laid Tsunade in the bed. She immediately wrapped the covers around her and hit Jiraiya.

"Oh my god! You are so lucky no one saw us or you'd be dead right now!" Jiraiya looked at her through hooded eyes. In the blink of an eye he had pinned her down on the bed with a smug look.

"Have I ever told you how much I love it when you get mad? I think it's the cutest thing in the world, that is, before you pummel me to death." He started kissing his way down her jaw and back up to her lips." So Hime," he started," how do you plan to end the evening?"

Tsunade smirked and started tracing the small patch of hair that led downward from his belly button before tugging at the towel around his waist."I don't think I'm going to sleep right away." She said with hungry eyes.

Jiraiya smiled," that's exactly what I wanted to hear Hime." He said before laying a gentle kiss on her lips._ It's going to be a long night._

I apologize for not updating but that took a lot longer than I expected. Sorry, but no smex for you guys! =P that chapter was way longer than my other ones but it was worth it. Isn't it weird how you come up with a lot of ideas while taking a shower? Or is that only me. Anyways, I hope you guys liked it and be sure to review! =]


	4. Chapter 4: Fun in the sun

So to start I want to thank you so much if you've been following the story. Okay so just too clear things up. I'm sorry if I make horrible mistakes with my grammar and stuff but I wrote this whole thing on my itouch and hate not having spell check. This is liek, the fifth time I've re-written this chapter so I'm sticking with it! Also you should get ready for some hardcore warm fuzzy feelings and cuddling! Enjoi =]

don't own naruto

Tsunade squeezed her eyes shut as the bright sunlight seeped in through the window. She rolled over and wrapped her arms around Jiraiya's neck, snuggling closer into the crook of his arm. She inhaled deeply, marveling in the smell of his intoxicating scent. She looked up and smiled at the sight of his tranquil face. She started absentmindedly running her fingers over the red marks that ran down from his eyes.

"Must you always touch me while I'm trying to sleep Hime?" Jiraiya asked with closed eyes, startling Tsunade.

"Jeez Baka you scared me, when did you wake up?" Tsunade asked while pushing his wild white mane out of his face.

He simply shrugged and opened his eyes to look at her." How long have you been poking my face?" she gave him a scowl and stuck her tongue out, making him chuckle. He pulled her closer to plant a light kiss on the small diamond that rested on her forehead. She closed her eyes and rested on his chest, listening to the comforting sound that emitted from his heart.

She thought back to when Dan died, the pain that she had felt was overwhelming. Jiraiya was the only person she could lean on. When he stroked her hair gently, telling her everything was going to be okay, she listened to his strong heart for comfort and it did just that. It was her safe haven, her home. Whenever she needed someone to tell her to just let it all out she would go to Jiraiya and cry until she couldn't cry any more. He was always there for her and she realized that she wouldn't have made it this far without him. When they were genin they would sneak out at night to watch the stars together and talk about whatever they felt like. Jiraiya was always her wall to lean on, her shoulder to cry on, her friend to laugh with, and now her love to keep her warm through the harsh, cold nights.

Dan was merely a fling compared to the relationship that she shared with her beloved toad sage. Dan was never able to satisfy her needs like Jiraiya could, not even close. For that, Tsunade was almost glad he slept with so many women; he knew the women's body better than the back of his hand. It was just like comparing a boy to a man.

Jiraiya's deep baritone voice shook through her body and brought her back down to earth."So what are you going to do today Hime?"

Tsunade blinked a couple times and looked up to meet his gaze."Oh, uhh, I don't know. What were you planning on doing?"

Jiraiya leaned his head back and closed his eyes in thought. "Well..." he started with a sigh," I'm pretty sure there's a beach nearby. What do you think?" Tsunade jolted up.

"Are you crazy? I haven't been to a beach since I was a little girl! Of course I want to go!" she got up and started to frantically grab her discarded clothes off the floor. Jiraiya eyed her hungrily, loving the way she looked in one of his oversized shirts. She stopped suddenly and turned to look at Jiraiya with a pout. "Jiraiya, I don't have a bathing suit."

Jiraiya stood up to stretch and grabbed the fishnet shirt that had been thrown next to the bed to pull over him. "There's bound to be a swim shop somewhere in town. I need one too actually." The two got dressed and headed to the bustling downtown marketplace.

Tsunade groaned at the harsh summer heat, loosening the already low shirt she had on. She glanced at Jiraiya, who seemed unfazed by the pounding sun, and gaped."How the hell are you not hot in those clothes?" she stared at him, counting a full five layers of heavy clothing plus armor. A confused look passed his face as he looked down to examine his clothes.

"I don't know, guess I'm just used to it after training on Mt. Myoboku." he replied with a shrug. She groaned and started walking ahead of him.

"Ugh let's just hurry up. I'm dying right now from the weather." Tsunade never liked the other nation's weather, it was always either too hot or too cold, unlike Konoha which had perfect weather all year long.

They had been walking for no more than ten minutes when they found the small surf shop they had been looking for. Tsunade skipped to the back of the shop to search for a swimsuit. She picked up a skimpy red bikini and held it up to herself. Jiraiya walked over and smirked at the sight of Tsunade holding the bathing suit up and performing various poses. "There will be children at the beach you know." he said as he wrapped his strong arms around her waist. "I wouldn't mind of course." he whispered into her ear with a deep voice, causing chills to run through her.

"I'm not really going to buy it; I just thought it was cute." Jiraiya slumped and slid his arm back to his side. Tsunade chuckled and placed it back on the rack.

Tsunade had finally settled on buying a blue and white striped bikini while Jiraiya got some plain red board shorts. Once they made it to the beach, which was packed with people, they changed and put their regular clothes in a bag.

Tsunade stepped out of the changing room and squinted at the bright light. She put on the sunglasses that she had bought with her bathing suit and walked over to where she saw Jiraiya laying the towels down. Her eyes roamed his tan muscled back and toned stomach, causing her to unconsciously lick her lips. His tanned skin contrasted perfectly with the bright red shorts that he wore. She loved the lean curve in his lower back that led to his surprisingly perky butt. _No way is he the same age as me, he aged way more gracefully than that pedophile Orochimaru,_ she thought with a shudder at the mental image. She walked over unnoticed and wrapped her arms around his waist to pull him closer, resting her chin on his shoulder."Where have you been all my life?" she asked as he looked over to see who it was.

Jiraiya ogled at the blonde beauty. His eyes roamed her body, soaking up every dip and curve in her tiny figure. He could feel her breasts pressed against his back and could only imagine how they didn't pop out. He moved his way down to her smooth stomach and small waist, remembering the small belly button ring she used to wear when she was younger. He stopped at her shapely thighs and calves, always calling out to him, teasing him.

He scoffed and kissed her lightly, "With you the entire way." He turned and lifted her up bridal style. She shrieked and wrapped her arms around his neck to prevent from falling. He gently removed her sunglasses and tossed them onto the towel below." Now, weren't you saying how badly you wanted to swim?" he asked as he started walking toward the people filled ocean.

Terror filled her eyes."Jiraiya, don't even think about it!" he let out a dark chuckle and shivered as the cold water rose to his knees.

"Too late Hime." he said and tossed her into the freezing blue water. She screamed and shot out of the water immediately.

"I am so going to kill you!" she said through chattering teeth, walking threateningly towards him. He laughed and held his arms out tauntingly.

"I'd like to see you try." with that he started swimming deeper into the ocean, Tsunade chasing him from behind. _Damn he swims fast_! She thought as she followed him. He had swum far enough that only a few people were around. He stopped to look back and frowned. He turned a few times to look for the small blonde woman but saw nothing but ocean. He knit his brows worriedly and started swimming back when he felt something pull him under. He turned quickly, ready for an attack. He turned to meet a smiling Tsunade and relaxed. He pulled her out of the water and tossed her over his shoulder.

"Jiraiya let me down!" she screamed at him while hitting his back. Jiraiya started swimming back to where he could stand.

"No can do Hime, I'm not much of a bodyguard if I end up getting drowned by the woman I'm supposed to guard." he stated with mock seriousness. He finally let her down but had to hold her up so she didn't sink.

She looked up at him with her arms crossed, "You are such an ass." she scowled and turned her back to him, making him laugh. He lifted her into his arms and turned her face gently to look at him. The golden sun enveloped her face and took his breath away. He leaned in to kiss her roughly, crashing his lips to hers. She breathed in his salty scent, tangling one hand in his hair and the other resting on his stomach. She melted into his touch and only pulled away when air forced her to.

He walked back to shore and laid Tsunade on the towels. He laid down, resting his head in his hands behind his head and sighed in content as the red sun speckled with spots of violet spread warmth throughout his body. Tsunade rolled over so that she was resting on top of him on her stomach while he was on his back. She could feel his taut muscles tense at the added weight, his body flush against hers. She traced circles on his bare chest and rested her elbow in the sand to take some weight off of him.

"Did you enjoy your day under the sun Hime?" Tsunade smiled warmly and rested her head on his chest.

"Who said it was over yet?" she replied, making him grin. She rested her chin on his chest to look at him. She thought back to how he looked as a gennin. Chipmunk cheeks, a head of short, messy white hair, a constant stupid grin plastered on his face, thin red lines just an inch long under his eyes, and an irritating high voice that annoyed her to no end as a child. Now look at him. Sharp features, a strong jaw and squared chin, a sly grin playing at the corner of his mouth, beautiful long white hair, and a deep soothing voice that vibrated through your body. The only thing that hadn't changed in all those years of death and war were his warm midnight black eyes. Always wise and caring while also having a mischievous glint to them. She knew him so well.

"Jiraiya, I have I want to tell you." Jiraiya gave her a curious look.

"What is it Hime?" he was kind of afraid of what he would hear, but wanted to know anyway.

She gave him a guilty look and hesitantly said, "I... I think I cheated on Dan by mistake..."

Jiraiya looked at her for a while, wondering what the hell she was talking about."I'm sorry to break it to you Hime, but I'm not sure you do that kind of thing on accident." he spoke slowly, as to not hurt her feelings or say something wrong.

She let out an exasperated sigh, "That's not what I meant. I'm saying that... What if I never loved him... Because I was too busy trying not to fall in love with my best friend."

Jiraiya stared at her, jaw hanging and eyebrows knit together. She had loved him this whole time? No way, that is not possible. She was so in love with Dan, he should know. He was the one that watched them give each other googoo eyes from afar, loathing the man for stealing his Hime's heart. She gave Dan her undying love and now she tells him that she was trying her hardest not to fall for him? He didn't buy it.

"I don't buy it. If you were in love with me then you wouldn't have rejected me so many times." Tsunade bit her lips, hearing him say that stung a bit, but it was true.

She stroked his face and groaned."Jiraiya, I was afraid of letting you into my life any more than you already were. All of my loved ones have left me and I wasn't willing to lose you too. Hell, I almost lost you even when you weren't my boyfriend! I'm starting to think that Dan was nothing more than a wall to keep you distant." Jiraiya stared at her speechless, processing what she was saying."What's worse is that I can hardly remember Dan, hardly remember what it was like to be with him. All I can remember was crying, but not necessarily knowing what I was crying about."

Jiraiya held her closer to him and kissed the top of her head delicately. He had no snarky retort this time, he didn't have anything to say at all actually. He put all his words into his touch. They had laid there for at least an hour and a half, Tsunade using Jiraiya as a pillow to fall asleep on. He let her lay on top of him as he watched the clouds move lazily overhead, replaying her words in his head. _Always loved me huh?_ Jiraiya felt a mix of overwhelming happiness and grief with a twinge of guilt. He was overjoyed that Tsunade had always loved him, but also sad that she felt like he would hurt her, even if by accident, and guilty for the simple reason that Dan had been used. Sort of.

Jiraiya woke up when Tsunade moved next to him. He looked around confused, not realizing he had fallen asleep in the first place. He looked forward to the sound of water and frowned at the sight of the calm ocean lapping over the shore. He rubbed his eyes with his free hand and looked up at the moon, wondering if he should wake Tsunade up or just stay there. He estimated that it was around midnight and thought it better to stay there. Besides, Tsunade would probably strangle him if he tried to wake her up. He wrapped his free arm around her to keep her warm, even if it wasn't that cold since it was summer. They were the only ones on the beach and most likely the only ones out this late period.

He slowly slid out from under the small woman as to not wake her and stood up, making sure to cover her with his robe before he left. He pulled a black shirt over his head before walking to the edge of the shore. He let the water wash over his feet and dug his toes into the sand, staring out into the horizon. He put his hands in his pockets and just stood there, staring into the sea. His eyes were hard as he remembered his former students from Minato all the way to Naruto. There were so many powerful ninjas that he had trained that he could be proud of, well not this time.

Tsunade woke up in a dazed state. She looked around with clouded eyes and stretched. _Damn, I slept that long? _She sat up, expecting to see Jiraiya and frowned when he wasn't there. She noticed his robe covering her and looked around for him. Her eyes locked on the lone figure staring out into the ocean. She got up and silently walked over to him. She noticed his jaw clenched tight and wondered what was making him so tense. She rubbed his arm which made him jump in surprise. "What are you thinking about?" his expression softened when he saw her.

"Nothing important." He muttered and looked down towards his feet. Tsunade could tell that he didn't want to talk about it and dropped the subject. She hooked her arm around his and leaned on his shoulder. They stood in silence, admiring the beautiful sea swaying gently in the pale moonlight. They treasured these moments, moments that seem frozen in time, locking their beauty forever. They would remember these moments forever because they are the few moments of peace that ninja are deprived of.

Tsunade looked up at Jiraiya who seemed perfect as the moonlight bounced off his hair and lit his features, making his small nose ring shine. He wrapped his arm around her waist and hugged her protectively. She snuggled close and hid her head in his chest, loving the warmth that emitted from him. He kissed the top of her head and stared at the moon again, making a silent promise to protect and love her best he could till death do they part. Then even as he fades away he will battle whatever demons and monsters are thrown at him to stay at his precious Hime's side, always there for her.

"I love you Baka." She whispered into his shirt.

He smiled and held her tighter."I love you too Hime."

Oops I think that ended more dramatically than I meant for it too. Sorry that it took so long but I was out of town and had no computer until today so I wrote everything on my Itouch's notes app. Also! While writing this chapter I realized that the _**wart **_on Jiraiya's nose is in fact a **piercing**! (I'm serious, Google it.) Now I'm mad at the anime for making him seem like a nasty wart guy when he wasn't (Kinda)! I think it's kind of kinky. X) Anyways, I don't really know where to go from here so suggestions are great and I hope you liked it! =]


	5. Chapter 5: Fight of the Kages

The Kage tower loomed over the bustling city, leaving a giant shadow in its wake. Jiraiya covered his eyes to look up and let out a long whistle before looking down at his Hokage. They had just barely made it due to his persistence to stay an extra day which in turn led to Tsunade dragging him out of bed at five in the morning to make up on lost time. Needless to say she wasn't exactly cheery that day.

"Kami, why doesn't Konoha's Kage tower look like that? You got the short end of the stick this time Hime." Tsunade shot him a sideways glare and frowned up at the colossal tower. He was right, this place made Konoha's tower look like a hut.

They were greeted with many bows by the guards protecting the front. The blonde Kage smirked once she saw the inside of the seemingly perfect tower. Despite the intricate designs on the outside, the inside was actually pretty plain.

The two waited anxiously in the elevator for the upcoming meeting. Tsunade was extremely nervous for reasons she couldn't fathom. Jiraiya noticed and wrapped his arms around her to kiss the top of her head." Relax Tsunade, everything's going to be okay." She nodded meekly and stepped out once they stopped. She scanned the Kage filled room before plopping down in her designated seat with a content sigh. Her body ached all over from walking so much. She sat directly across from the Raikage, who had been glaring at her from the moment she stepped in. She avoided his stare by looking at Jiraiya who had decided to lean on the back wall with a stern look on his face. The large tan man cleared his throat loud enough to silence the mumbling Kages.

"I'm sure you all know why I called this meeting to order. The notorious group known as Akastuki has captured all the tailed beast except for one, the Kyubi. Their latest capture was my brother the eight tailed Jinchuriki." He kept his fierce gaze locked on Tsunade. "My question is this. Why has Konoha failed to capture the rouge ninja Uchiha Sasuke after he left two years ago?" Everyone turned to look at the Hokage, waiting for an answer. Her mouth went dry.

She opened her mouth but no words came out. What was she supposed to tell them? The truth? Oh yeah, we sent a group of genin and one new chunin to chase after Orochimaru's **professional**goonies? She glanced over at Jiraiya with a helpless look, silently asking for him to step in. He stepped forward off the wall he was leaning on with a serious face.

"Sasuke Uchiha left on his own accord, therefore slipping out without notice. Besides that, we were recovering not only from the **destruction** of our village due to Orochimaru, but also the transition of a new Hokage. There was to many things going on at once for any one to notice a single genin run away." Jiraiya finished by sitting in the empty chair next to his Hokage. "If I recall correctly, Sunagakure were the ones who called the attack and got betrayed by Orochimaru leading in the death of two Kages. Orochimaru was an ex-Akastuki member and nearly destroyed two of the great nations single handedly. Akastuki is serious business and we can't ignore them any longer." He glanced back at Tsunade who had mouthed a _thank you_.

"Who are you? Your no Kage so why are you speaking for Konoha?" The Tsuchikage barked at the sannin and broke the silence. Jiraiya had a deflated look and Tsunade couldn't help but chuckle at him being called out by a hundred and something year old coot. She gave the Tsuchikage a straight face and answered, "Jiraiya is one of the legendary Sannin and was offered the job of Hokage, which he obviously turned down and offered to me. He has given reliable information on Akastuki and was trained by the third Hokage as my teammate. I also permit him with as much power as me." She gave the old Kage a daring glare, knowing that he wouldn't retort back. He snorted and looked away.

The rest of the meeting had Tsunade bored out of her skull. It wasn't that she didn't care it was just that she, well… didn't care. She had been playing with the pen in front of her when she felt a hand brush against her thigh. She disregarded it as a breeze but stiffened when she felt it moving up from her knee to her hip and back down. She shot her eyes to meet the man next to her, giving him a deathly glare. He was looking straight, seemingly listening intently to the conversation, but she could see the smirk that played under his features. He continued to rub small enticing circles on her bare thigh making her breath hitch. She hadn't even noticed the eyes of the Kages focused once again on her.

"Hokage!" the Raikage snapped, trying to get her attention. She tried to steady her breathing to answer the man but kept taking in shallow breaths.

''Y-yes?" her voice was hoarse and she mentally slapped herself for getting everyone's attention.

"Is there something wrong?" his words may have been concerned but his voice said otherwise. He had sounded extremely annoyed like his patience was running thin.

She shook her head slowly and moistened her lips to talk." Nothing, please continue." She could see Jiraiya's smirk clear on his face this time. She elbowed his side but he kept his hand where it was.

She spent the rest of the meeting playing footsies with Jiraiya and pretending to pay attention the droning voices around her. "What would you think of forming… a five-village alliance?" Tsunade's head snapped up.

"An alliance is what we need in this state of emergency, seeing as Akastuki can attack Konoha for Naruto at any time." she spoke clearly this time. "Konoha accepts." The other Kages nodded and agreed to the alliance.

"As a neutral party I would like for you to respect my position. I am best suited and will decide who among you is the right choice." The ruler of the land of iron waited for their acknowledgement before continuing. "As such, I would like to propose that Tsunade, the Hokage, should take the position." Tsunade looked up in surprise. Her?

The Raikage shot up from his chair and smashed the table to pieces. "We can't trust someone who already had at least three members from their village join Akastuki! No one from our village is involved in Akastuki!"

The neutral party nodded his head." True. A good leader must lead with emotion and power, but someone like you who lets his emotions get the best of him will break the alliance as you broke that table. I do not agree." The Raikage's face was red in fury but he remained silent and seated himself once more. "The Kazekage is too young for anyone to listen to him. The Tsuchikage is too old and is known to have mobility issues. Furthermore, the Akastuki has used him too many times to be trustworthy. Lastly, the Mizukage is known to be the seat of the Akastuki. We would have to worry about information leaks and spies. That leaves the Hokage who conveniently holds the nine tailed beast, whom we can not afford to lose." Everyone was left speechless including Tsunade. She was about to speak but was interrupted by one of the Mizukage's bodyguards.

"Something's coming." In less than a second all the bodyguards were on guard next to there rightful Kage. Jiraiya also stood protectively in front of Tsunade. She heard something come from the floor in the middle of the room and moved Jiraiya's arm away to get a clear view. There, stuck in the floor, was a strange distorted paper white man with spikes sticking out from under him.

"Akastuki," She heard Jiraiya mutter followed by him blocking her way with his arm again. He glanced back over his shoulder to talk to her." Don't worry Hime, I'll protect you." He gave her a reassuring smile and whipped his head back around to the scene in front of him.

"Hello!" he yelled in a cheery high voice. "Sasuke Uchiha is here somewhere." He gave a dramatic pause before speaking again." The question is where…?"

Like a flash of lightning the Raikage grabbed hold of the strange _man's_neck. "Where is Uchiha Sasuke?" the _man_ flinched away in surprise. "If you don't tell me I wont go easy on you."

The_man_ chuckled with a maniacal look in his eyes. "I'll give a hint…" the Raikage tightened his grip, choking his words

"Hey, you!" he shouted at Tsunade," The Uchiha's your responsibility so you get to help deal with him." He smashed through the wall and called for his bodyguards before dashing out to find the young Uchiha. Tsunade looked up at Jiraiya with concerned eyes. He nodded, understanding her concerns and followed the Raikage to the battle. Tsunade dashed to his side with an uneasy feeling in her chest.

When they arrived at the scene the Raikage had already trapped Sasuke between him and his bodyguard, both aiming at his head with fist and sword. Tsunade thought for sure that it would be the end of him until a man with bright blue hair parried the Raikage's fist while a man with Orochimaru's notorious curse mark creeping across his face blocked the sword's strike. Sasuke's swirling blood red eyes locked on to Tsunade and she could feel his rage from where she stood.

"You… Where is Danzo!" he growled at her and dashed forward with his sword drawn, ready to strike. He pulled his arm back to thrust straight through her heart. She didn't even see him run over, there was no way she could block it now. She crossed her arms in front of her face, ready for the pain and shot her eyes open when it didn't come. She heard a loud clang but couldn't see anything but Jiraiya's red cloak.

"Don't even **think**about touching her you brat," Jiraiya seethed, blocking the sword with his hand guards. He kicked Sasuke hard in the stomach, making him fly back." You okay Hime?" Tsunade nodded and joined his side. She saw the Raikage and his bodyguards fighting Sasuke's followers in the corner of her eye but ignored it and glared at the boy.

"What do you mean where is Danzo?" she yelled at him with clenched fists. She hated that creep Danzo. Sasuke threw his head back and bellowed out a laugh before snapping his head down to meet her glare. His eyes were swirling rapidly and his chest was heaving furiously.

"Don't play dumb with me. You know exactly what I mean. Danzo is the Hokage now and I came here to kill him for what he did to Itachi. But I guess you're the next best thing!" he jumped high in the air and plunged back down with his sword crackling with lighting running through it. Tsunade hopped back and threw a hard kick to the side of his head. He blocked it with his free hand and yanked his sword out of the ground to slice up at her. She spun around to elbow his back but hit nothing but air. He was now standing a couple feet away with a cold stare. She could barely see his lips move as he whispered, "Amaterasu."

His pupils started swirling faster and his eye began to bleed as a black flame ignited on Tsunade's shoulder. Jiraiya watched in horror as her knees buckled and fell to the ground. She screamed out in pain and clenched her robe tightly, making sure not to touch thee black flames. "Tsunade!" he ran to her side and supported her head. Her eyes were glued shut as she continued to scream out. He lowered her head slowly and turned to Sasuke with a murderous glare. Sasuke looked at him smugly and laughed.

"What 's wrong **Jiraiya-Sama**? I didn't touch her, just like you asked." He laughed again and Jiraiya lunged forward with a kunai drawn.

"You bastard!" he growled and sliced down to meet his sword. Sasuke grunted and pushed the knife away.

"Chokuto Sword activate." Jiraiya was blinded by the bright flash and leaped away. He listened closely for any movement and quickly blocked his right side with his kunai as soon as he heard the loud chirping of lightning. He met face to face with a smug Sasuke. "You don't stand a chance against me **Sannin."**Jiraiya grabbed his shirt and through him in the air. Sasuke preformed various hand signs before gulping in air and cupping his hand over his mouth to tunnel the oncoming flames. Jiraiya knew immediately what he was doing and preformed the necessary hand signs before gulping in air also. The red flames came roaring towards him as he spewed out a jet of oil. The flames ignited in Sasuke's face with a wicked explosion. Jiraiya covered himself but felt no heat. He was looking at a wall of sand that covered him like a shell. He heard the Uchiha land with a thud and turned to meet his protector. The three sand siblings were standing at the ready, Gaara with an outstretched hand.

"Go help lady Tsunade." He told his siblings without lifting his eyes from the Uchiha. They ran to her side and hoisted her up to get help. They ran out of the room after receiving a slow nod from their Kazekage. Once the sand dropped from in front of him Jiraiya ran forward to deliver another blow.

Sasuke crawled to his knees and extended his arm. "Chidori blade." He growled under his breath. A bullet of lightning shot out from his hand and pierced Jiraiya's right shoulder. He stumbled and clenched his arm tightly. "Chidori Nagashi." He grunted while standing. Jiraiya felt a shock of electricity rock his body as he fell to the floor in pain. He screamed out and doubled over. It stopped suddenly and he looked up panting. He saw Sasuke get hit hard by a giant hand composed of sand.

Jiraiya stood again, this time gathering the blood from his shoulder onto his hand.

"Tch. I can't believe I'm actually having some trouble with this brat." He muttered under his breath. He clamped his hands together, "Kuchiyose no Justsu!" a green and yellow man sized toad with a heavy sword strapped at its side and a scar crossing its left cheek appeared and stood straight.

"You called, Jiraiya?" he asked while watching Sasuke and Gaara shoot sand and lighting projectiles at each other from afar.

"Yeah. Looks like our sand friend could use some help." He hopped on the toads back and clamped his hands together once more. "Wild Lion's Mane!" He whipped his head in a circle and sent it flying towards Sasuke. It wrapped around him tight, constricting him. He jumped off the toad and walked towards the Uchiha. The toad circled around him, drawing his sword and holding it to his throat.

"What where you saying about Danzo being here?" Jiraiya asked through pants. He was still holding his wounded shoulder to try and stop the bleeding. Sasuke glared at him and kept silent, clearly amused that the sannin didn't know. He muttered something under his breath and black flames suddenly surrounded him like a veil, burning the hair that constricted him. Jiraiya grunted and hopped backwards, making sure that the rest of his hair wouldn't burn off. Gaara's sand was on him as soon as he got out, forming a dense ball of sand around him. The toad hopped away to Jiraiya's side.

"Sand coffin." He clenched his fist tight, making the sand implode. The sand dropped with a limp Sasuke in it. The toad held his sword up just in case. Jiraiya shuffled forward to look down at the scene and knit his brows together when he saw a strange white rib like shell cover Sasuke's body. He lifted his body up slowly and stared at the sannin with wild eyes. He flipped out of the hole a good twenty feet away and met Gaara's oncoming sand with his Amaterasu.

After Jiraiya had gotten some strength back he called out to the Kazekage. "We're not going to get anywhere with this. We finish this now." Gaara nodded and beckoned his sand back to him. Jiraiya muttered something to the toad and started doing hand signs. Gaara stood, waiting for his signal. Jiraiya nodded at the Kazekage and the toad.

"Katon:Gamayu Endon! (Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet)" Jiraiya released a massive flame bullet that exploded in oil as it hit Sasuke.

"Gokusa Maiso. (Prison Sand Burial)" the floor under Sasuke quickly turned into sand and slowly closed in on all sides of the Uchiha.

"Goukakyuu Rasengan! (Fireball rasengan)" Jiraiya gathered the flaming chakra in each palm and threw them into the small opening left in the sand dome. The toad let out another oil bullet filled with kunai just before it closed. The sand enclosed him completely and was eerily still. Gaara slowly clenched his fist and the sand exploded from within. Fire threatened to escape as it burned the sand from the inside, leaking out through small cracks. Jiraiya had to cover his face with his arms to withstand the "contained" inferno. Sasuke was being baked in a massive oven for a while before it started to calm. Garra let the blackened sand fall everywhere onto the floor making it look like ash. Jiraiya stood, clenching his side and breathing heavy, waiting for the smoke to clear so he could get a good view.

Sasuke was on his knees gasping for air when the smoke cleared. A giant skeletal warrior stood behind him, masking him in a strange purple aura. He stood up shakily, using the wall behind him for support. "Your shield may be good Gaara, but mine is perfect." He still had a wild look on his face as he looked up. "Only those with the double Mangekyo have the power to control his… the third power. Susanoo."

Jiraiya grit his teeth, "what the hell is that…" he hissed.

"I will find Danzo. Madara said he was here." Something clicked in Jiraiya's head at the mention of Madara's name. His Eyes widened in disbelief.

"That's impossible, Madara's been dead for years!" Sasuke laughed darkly and smirked.

" I would prove it to you, but you wont live to see his face." With a flick of his hand he commanded Susanoo to smash the pillars that held the roof up. The massive monster crushed the pillars with ease and the building came crashing down. Jiraiya just barely escaped the cascading rocks by diving through the entrance. He slumped against the wall, attempting to catch his breath. Millions of thoughts raced through his mind at once, the most prominent being what Sasuke had said about Madara.

_He can't be back. He was killed hundreds of years ago…_he then thought of Orochimaru. He would have been able to live forever had Sasuke not killed him. Even then, it seemed impossible. He sighed and stood up with much effort. He cringed as a wave of pain shot through his body. He felt around to find at least two broken ribs, a fractured arm, a broken femur, and of course a gaping hole through his shoulder. Not to mention his chakra was nearly depleted. He limped his was back to the meeting room in agony.

Back in the meeting room, Tsunade smashed the floor as her punch missed, barely grazing him. She flattened her hand, flipped over, and pushed up to deal a finishing kick to his face. He flew into the air like a rag doll and landed with a thud. She walked over and grabbed him by his shirt. She pulled him up to look at her and punched his face hard into thee ground. The Tsuchikage jumped into the air and formed a huge square with his chakra.

"Its nothing personal, I just have to kill you. I cant believe you're the one that Deidara. Musta been a bad day." With that he blasted the enormous block into Sasuke, crushing him to smithereens. Tsunade clutched her newly healed shoulder and gave away to the looming darkness that crept over her. When she woke up again she was in a hospital ward. She groaned and massaged her pounding head. She was just lucky that the Amaterasu only caught her jacket and part of her shoulder. Thankfully it disappeared as soon as Sasuke ran out of chakra. She turned her head to the side to see Jiraiya lying unconscious next to her. She quickly shot out of her bed and ran to his side, ignoring the pain that screamed at her.

"Jiraiya…" she stroked his cheek gently and buried her head into the crook of his neck. She tried to hold them back but couldn't hold them in anymore. Tears gushed down her face like blood from a wound. Her sobs racked her body violently as she tried to steady her erratic breathing. She stared at him with burning red eyes and sobbed again. "I'm so sorry I got you into this mess. You were just protecting me like you always do." She examined his wounds and grimaced. He would definitely live, but it would take months for him to fully recover. She felt him stir under her and she froze.

"H-Hime? What are you doing?" he groaned in pain and tried to push her off of him. She pulled back and looked at him for a moment before wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.

"Hime! You choking me" he said in a strained voice. She instantly withdrew and gave him a guilty smile.

"Sorry Jiraiya, I was just so worried about you… What happened after the Sand Ninja took me?" she asked as she grabbed his hand and squeezed tight.

He was silent for a while, wondering if he should tell her about Madara. "I kicked that emo boy's ass for you." He said with a playful grin. She laughed and squeezed his hand.

"Thank you. You're the best bodyguard I could've asked for. May I?" she pointed to the empty space on the bed.

"Oh yeah, sure." He scooted over to make room for her. When she finally got in a position that didn't hurt her or him, she snuggled against his chest, listening to his heartbeat like usual. He stroked her hair lazily with his good arm and rested the other on his chest.

"Jiraiya, where are we?" she inquired. He looked around and out the window but couldn't see much. "And don't even say in a hospital because I know that already." She stated matter-o-factly.

He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders, instantly regretting it as a jolt of pain shot through his arm. Once it died down he spoke," I don't know. But you know what? I don't really care." She looked at him confused and narrowed her eyes.

"Huh?" she gave him a " what the hell are talking about look" to clarify her confusion.

He pulled her in for an unsuspecting kiss and whispered into her ear," I don't give a shit about where I am as long as I'm with you." She smiled and pulled him into her embrace.

"Good because I never want to leave you, you big baka." He chuckled and kissed her forehead.

"Love you too Hime."

O my Gawd I haven't updated in over two weeks! O_o sorry for not updating guys, my grandpa was in the hospital for a while due to his cancer so I've pretty much been living in a hospital for the last week and a half (don't worry he's doing way better now! He got released a couple days ago!). But to make up for my absence I have put together an Uber long chappy (long to me anyways) with lost of Jiraiya kicks Sasuke ass action! It took me forever to write the action scene. I kept having to go back and forth for reference and what moves they know and what actually happened and blah blah blah! Anyway, review please cuz I want to know what you think about the fight scene and be sure to tune in again!


	6. Chapter 6: Back to Normal

I write for you faithful reviewers! To tell the truth I feed off of your reviews like cookies _ I love getting reviews and to those of you who comment on every chapter, I salute you. (Does the military salute thingy)

I really hate going back and doing research on what actually happened, so I don't think I'll be writing much scripted scenes from the manga anymore unless it's absolutely necessary. Also I'm glad you guys liked the fight scene cuz' I worked my ass off to give it to you!

…..

But enough of my rant, you guys came to read so enjoi =]

Don't own Naruto

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Jiraiya was a pretty laid back guy who didn't hate many things. He tolerated being called Ero-Sennin by Naruto (To an extent), put up with being pounded by Tsunade every now and then, hell he even let Tsunade drag him with her on this crazy trip to the Land of Lightning without much of a fuss! But one thing that he could say he truly hated with all his soul, were hospitals. He hated the way people looked at him with sympathetic eyes. He hated how the smell of death and injury lurked through their halls. He hated the constant poking and prodding the nurses did right before he slipped into a much needed rest. He hated not being able to walk around despite telling the nurses time and time again that he had been through much worse and could handle it. The part that he hated the most, ironically, was the fact that he let it all happen without protest because he knew Tsunade was worried about him and wanted to give her peace of mind.

Or so he told himself.

In reality however, he was being held prisoner by the Hokage. She refused to let him move an inch without holding him down and ranting on and on about how important it was that he stays put so that he didn't hurt himself and blah blah blah. These times were the only times that he despised her for being the world's greatest medical ninja.

He glared at her with a scowl across his face, as was his ritual every morning for the past week. She returned the glare with her own as she watched him like a hawk with her legs crossed and arms folded while she sat on the couch that sat across from the medical bed. Tsunade had been healed of her injuries in less than a day after the fight while Jiraiya, on the other hand, was told by the Hokage that his wounds would not be able to heal with regular ninjutsu. She told him that the only remedy for his wounds was time. She diagnosed his femur as being shattered and couldn't do anything about it due to the fact that ninjutsu couldn't reconstruct bone. His shoulder was patched up but would take more time than his leg to recover due to the fact that the lightning sword had torn straight through, hitting numerous nerves and joints. His ribs had been fixed with ease and was no longer a problem leaving only his exhaustion left to cure.

Jiraiya moved his wrapped shoulder uncomfortably, trying to scratch it against the bars attached to the side of the bed. Tsunade sighed and got up to help him. "Do you always have to be so restless?" she asked while fixing his bandages.

He scoffed and rubbed his shoulder, "Do you always have to be so controlling?" she wacked the back of his head and walked back to her seat. He winced and rubbed his throbbing head with a bandaged hand. Using his elemental rasengan always left him with harsh burns, resulting in him in using it only on special occasions. He cursed himself for not learning more earth elemental justsu to counter Sasuke's chidori justsu.

Tsunade examined his bandaged shoulder, making her way down to his bare torso and back up. He was making incredible recovery, even for him, but would be stuck there for a while. She couldn't really say she was enjoying staying at the hospital in the Land of Lightning but was told that he was in no condition to move back to Konoha's hospitals leaving her no choice. She hated being at the hospital in general because it reminded her too much of the work that she oh so desperately avoided. If it was anyone besides Jiraiya stuck there she would be out the door in the blink of an eye. She felt slightly guilty for being responsible for yet **another**set of injuries on her beloved toad sage, but kept her emotions relatively in check. One breakdown was enough for the time being…

"Tsunade, I have to tell you something." Jiraiya looked at her with a conflicted look on his face. Tsunade bit her lip nervously. Whenever Jiraiya called her by her name she knew that something was wrong. He hesitated before continuing, "The Uchiha boy said something to me before he escaped. Something about… Madara."

Tsunade's eyes widened at the sound of Madara's name. Her grandfather, the first Hokage, had always told her stories about the treacherous man when she was a girl. She knew him all too well and knew what he had done to achieve enough power to form the Uchiha clan. She also knew that he had been killed hundreds of years ago by her grandfather for the power over the village that would later be known as Konohagakure. Oh yeah, had she mentioned that he had been **killed?**

She walked next to his bed and sat on the edge to avoid being over heard by a passing nurse. "What did he say about Madara?" she asked him slowly in a low voice. He wrapped his free hand around hers and stared out the open window. The villagers outside seemed so peaceful to him, just like the villagers in Konoha had looked before something devastating crashed down on them.

He continued to look out the window when he answered, "He said that Madara was still alive and had told him all about what Danzo and the elders forced Itachi to do to his own clan. He said that he was told that Danzo was the current Hokage and he went searching for him. He wants to avenge his brother's death in exchange for Konoha's as a whole. He felt that bringing down the Hokage, who would have conveniently been the man he was hunting, would create an opening for his attack."

Jiraiya reached up to gently shut her hanging jaw and let his words soak in. so many emotions where running through her at that moment. Disbelief, concern, horror, confusion, hate, shock, none of them were good. "Wh- what do you mean Madara is alive? My grandfather killed him years ago!" she felt like crying. Not only did she have to worry about Pain, but also Madara if Jiraiya was right.

"Think about it Hime. Orochimaru was able to perfect a justsu that allowed him to live forever. Now think of the power that Madara holds and ask yourself if it's really that unheard of," he said with patient, wisdom filled eyes. She lowered her head and let out a shaky breath.

"Jiraiya, you realize that if what you're saying is the truth then we have much bigger issues to deal with then Akatsuki. Madara is a force more powerful than the tailed beasts, maybe even worse than if Akatsuki gets a hold of all the beasts! We have to tell the other Kage's." She noticed him shift awkwardly and gave him a confused look. "What?"

Jiraiya rubbed the back of his neck and pushed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, "Well, uhh, Madara apparently appeared right before Sasuke was about to die so he could explain his whole plan to the other Kage's. You didn't know because you were unconscious during the whole thing and no one told you because you still weren't awake when the messenger came. Sorry for not telling you sooner…" he could feel her anger rising up in her gave her the most innocent look he could.

"Jiraiya… why are you telling me this just NOW?" she seethed at him in a furious voice. He tried his best to distance himself from her but was trapped between the bar to the side of him and the fuming Hokage.

"Now now Tsunade, don't do anything rash! I'm already in the hospital!" she stood up and turned away to rub her temples like she always did to calm herself down. She slowly counted to ten and back down in her head before turning back around to confront a terrified Jiraiya.

She breathed in deep and closed her eyes before saying, "Jiraiya, just tell me **exactly**what Madara said." she tried her best to keep her voice steady as to not scare Jiraiya anymore than she already was. He lowered his arms and moved back to his original spot once he decided that Tsunade wasn't trying to kill him anymore.

He told her that Madara was just using the Akatsuki to collect the tailed beast for him so he could eventually join them together and awaken Jubi, the ten-tailed beast. He explained that in doing so Madara would gain enough power to project his eyes onto the moon and cast the most powerful illusion ever, Mugen Tsukuyomi, and control the whole ninja world with it. He would join the world together as one and stop all war and death forever. By the time he was done Tsunade was staring at him, mouth gaping and eyes wide with all rage forgotten, silently taking in all his words.

She shook her head and buried it into his uninjured shoulder and let out an unsettled sob. She looked up at him with glossy eyes, "What are we going to do? We can't just let him throw away hopes and dreams and love for peace! He'll destroy everything that makes us human and turn us into his mindless puppets!" she searched his deep black eyes for an answer, anything to help ease her fear.

He stared at her, hoping an idea would miraculously pop into his head and sighed when nothing came. "It's going to be okay," he assured her in a comforting voice. He wasn't just saying that for her but for himself too. They grew up in a time of war and bloodbaths where it was every man for himself. Today's generation only had Akatsuki to worry about and he wanted to keep it that way. Growing up as a parentless child was the hardest thing he could imagine, but was lucky to have people like Tsunade and Sarutobi sensei there for him. Many children didn't even have that. If he was alone as he grew up, he wasn't sure where his loyalties would end up lying…

He laughed in spite of himself. O_i, look at me. Reminiscing like some old geezer…_ He sighed and closed his eyes, not wanting to dwell on the topic any longer. He felt Tsunade lazily running her hand down his stomach and back up, wondering how it came to be that he finally got her to confess her feelings to him._And it only took her fifty or so years to do it too,_he thought sarcastically. He wasn't complaining though, having her that close to him alone was enough for him. Her actually loving him was just and added bonus to him.

As if reading his mind, Tsunade stopped and asked the question that had been nagging her ever since she met him. "Jiraiya… How come you never gave up on me no matter how much I rejected you?" she lowered her head, not wanting to see his face this time. She could feel his stomach rumble as he let out a laugh.

"I'm surprised Hime. I would have thought you knew by now." She raised her head to give him a confused look, not getting what he found so funny. He stopped laughing and gave her an expression of mock hurt. "You really don't know, do you? Never give up, never give in, and never back down on your word. That is my Nindo, my ninja way. That includes never giving up on the woman you love no matter what she does or says to you. That includes you."

She rolled her eyes but blushed slightly as she pulled him into a light kiss. "I'm glad that's your ninja way because if it wasn't," she made a gesture to the two of them," then this would never have happened."

He chuckled and threw his head back yelling, "Oh the horror!" she slipped out from under him and slid off the side of the bed to stand. She heard one of the nurses walking in and didn't want to get yelled at again for "disturbing the patient" as they put it. Jiraiya groaned once he saw her holding a long, shining needle in her hand.

Did he mention that he hated needles?

Jraiya winced as the bright sunlight shone down on him for the first time in weeks. Tsunade walked close to his side, fearing that he might fall over at any time due to his unbalanced walk. They let him go after giving him a crutch for his leg and a sling to keep the pressure off his shoulder. He didn't care that his body screamed at him to stop with every step he took, he was overjoyed to be out of that damned hospital.

He let out a huge sigh and tilted his head up to look into the sun. "Man am I glad I'm out of there!" he hobbled his way in front of Tsunade and hunched his back over to imitate an old man."Oi, Tsunade, don't I look like Danzo?" He pulled his hair over one eye to act as bandages and squinted with the other until his eyes were mere slits. He frowned and in a gravelly voice said," You lack the ability to be Hokage Tsunade." Tsunade brushed him out of the way and continued walking.

"Your such a baka." She muttered under her breath but was trying her hardest not to laugh. He half walked half stumbled his way next to Tsunade and slumped against his crutch.

"This thing is so annoying…" Tsunade stopped and looked back with a glare.

"Either you use that or you crawl because I'm not carrying your fat ass all the way back to Konoha." She turned on her heel and started walking ahead. He groaned and hobbled his way after her.

Tsunade stopped in front of a small inn once she had it with Jiraiya's constant complaints and the sun started to set. She walked past the lobby, leaving Jiraiya to pay for it like usual, and waited by the locked door that held their room. She heard the now familiar sound of Jiraiya's crutch hitting the floor with his every step and exhaled impatiently. "Hurry up cripple!"

Jiraiya walked up to her with a scowl, "Excuse me if I'm crippled because I had to save a certain someone's ass!" he unlocked the door and threw his crutch to the floor before falling onto the bed. He rested on his elbow and looked at her with a dark grin. "Come lay next to daddy," he said while patting the spot next to him.

Tsunade shoved his chest down and straddled his hips while laying her hands on his chest, looking down at him with hooded eyes. She leaned in next to his ear making him shiver as her breath tickled his inner shell. "You're not getting any of this until your injuries are fully healed," she whispered seductively. She pushed off his chest walked to the bathroom to take a shower. He pouted and let out a whimper before sitting up again. He really hated being injured now more than ever.

Tsunade walked out of the shower feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. She wrapped the towel around her head and pulled on her pajama's before walking out to find Jiraiya sprawled out across their bed in what seemed to look like an extremely uncomfortable position. She tried her hardest to lug his body over to one side without waking him up and stopped when she heard a groan emit from him. He blinked his eyes sleepily and looked around in a daze. "Hime? What are you doing?" he grumbled in an almost incoherent voice.

"Trying to move you over so I can sleep." she huffed, slightly out of breath from lifting his heavy form. He scooted over with much effort and lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. Tsunade lay close to him and wrapped her arms around his neck to snuggle in and steal his body heat. She watched him closely, trying to read his expression. She finally gave up and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

He blinked slowly and kept his eyes locked onto the ceiling. "How uncomfortable I am sleeping on my back. It makes me feel so congested," he replied while shifting slightly to change positions.

She stroked his arm soothingly, "That's not what I meant." He sighed and looked at her, not being able to see her features but picturing her perfectly in his mind.

"I was thinking of Orochimaru…" he trailed off, not needing to finish his sentence for her to understand.

Tsunade grimaced at the thought of the creepy snake man and placed an unseen hand on his cheek. "Don't think about it Jiraiya, it'll bring nothing but pain." She knew all too well how he felt towards the deceased sannin. He tried to hide it but she could see the guilt and hate that he felt for himself for letting him slip out of his grasp. She could feel the pain that was caused when he couldn't protect their Sensei from Orochimaru's heartless murder. He felt guilty for it all and it haunted him like a never ending nightmare. She felt his jaw clench under her palm as he placed his hand on top of hers.

"I know." came his short reply and she knew not to press him any further. She cuddled as close to him as she could to let sleep overtake her restless mind and exhausted body.

Tsunade felt the sun warm her body and rolled over, expecting to find an arm to pull over her and block its bright rays. She rolled over and lay flat in her stomach. She raised her head up and looked around for her missing toad sage. She got out of bed groggily and pulled on a fresh pair of clothes to go out in. As she was walking towards the door she noticed a small piece of paper with handwriting that she could identify from miles away.

**Don't freak out. Just left to buy some breakfast.**

Tsunade felt her eyebrow twitch as she read the first line and thought, _when do I ever freak out?_ She settled on confronting him later as a grumble rolled through her stomach. She hadn't realized that she hadn't eaten since they left the hospital and started to regret it. She walked out of their room and locked the door behind her to go find her breakfast.

She stepped out of the small inn to find the peaceful atmosphere that all small villages seemed to have. She closed her eyes and brought her hands together in front of her chest to search out Jiraiya's chakra from the rest. He wasn't hard to find considering most of the villagers were simple farmers or low level ninjas. That added to the fact that he had a massive pool of chakra that couldn't be hidden even if he wanted it to be made finding him a snap. She followed his chakra to spot him next to a small cart handing the owner a generous amount of money with what seemed to be their breakfast in a bag at his side. She noticed him slip something into the folds of his robe before turning around to walk back to their temporary shelter.

"Oi, Hime, what are you doing here?" he called once he saw her. She took the bag of food from him when she noticed the trouble that he was having with walking and sniffed in a heavenly scent that she recognized to be chicken and dumplings, her favorite. When walking back she had to use all her willpower to not start eating the food then and there. Her eyes kept darting back to his robe folds, wondering what it was that he was hiding from her. She never liked secrets, especially when they were Jiraiya's.

Tsunade waited impatiently for Jiraiya to open the door and immediately started opening the box that held her precious food. Jiraiya watched her and chuckled, amused at her desperate attempts to open the wrapped box. He crossed the room and untied the ribbon on the top with a shake of his head. Tsunade tore the top off and stuffed one of the steaming hot dumplings into her mouth with a delighted sigh.

Jiraiya chuckled and took a bite out of one of the dumplings, "It's not very ladylike to stuff your face like that Hime."

"Scrwu you." She said with a mouth full of chicken. She was glad that he knew her well enough to buy her favorite foods for her. She was doing most of the eating anyways.

Tsunade lay back on the bed and placed a hand over her full stomach. "Man that was good," she murmured under her breath. She turned her head to the side to face Jiraiya and asked, "What was that thing that you were buying?"

Jiraiya huffed and reached into his robe for the hidden item. "It was supposed to be a surprise but I know you'll just steal it from me if I don't show you so oh well. Sit up and close your eyes for a second." She sat on the edge of the bed and closed her eyes like told. She hated doing what she was told but she wanted whatever it was that he had and was willing to do it just this one time.

She could feel the bed sink under his weight as he sat behind her. She felt something cold wrap around her neck and instantly tensed up due to habit. "You're not going to try and choke me are you?" she asked sarcastically.

"Don't tempt me," he muttered and stood back up to walk in front of her. "There, all done. You can open your eyes now."

She opened her eyes and immediately felt for the cold lump that hung at her chest. She lowered her head to look at it and gasped because there in her hands was a small silver frog with what looked like dark green diamonds embedded all over its body. It had two round black diamonds for its big bulging eyes and was topped off with a small gold crown atop its head. It was all held on a thin silver chain around her neck.

Jiraiya puffed out his chest as she looked up at him with a shocked expression. She stood up and pulled him into a tight hug. "Jiraiya, it's beautiful!" she whispered.

He grunted and moved the arm that was being crushed between them, "Hime, my shoulder." She let go and covered her mouth with her hand.

"Oh I'm so sorry!" He gave her a smile to tell her it was okay and she planted a passionate kiss on his lips. He wrapped his free arm around her waist and pulled her closer. They separated, gasping for air.

He looked at her with a smirk and leaned his face in closer. "So I take it you like it." She wrapped her hands around his neck and gave him a light kiss.

"I love it." She laid her head on his chest and stayed in that position until he pulled her away.

"We should get going if we want to make it to the next town before sundown." He started to grab all of their bags and looked at Tsunade once he was set. "You ready?"

She nodded and opened the door. "Let's go, I don't want to have to stay in some creepy out in the middle of nowhere town." he rolled his eyes and locked the door behind them.

The whole time they were walking, Tsunade was playing with her new frog necklace. It felt so natural on her, like she owned it all her life. And whenever she looked at it, she couldn't help but think, _the frog that will always be next to my heart._

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**Not much action here, almost all fluff. The necklace that Tsunade has is an actual necklace from Zales that I saw and had to add it in there. If you want to see it just Google "Zales frog necklace" and it'll come up. It's really cute!** **ANYWAYS, hope you liked this mushy update and don't forget to review (If you don't review I might die!) =]**

**Okay im really getting annoyed. how come it wont keep my indentations? please someone tell me why fanfiction keeps deleting them so i can write correctly.**


	7. Chapter 7: Nabbed

Wowzers. It has been a long time hasn't it? Well I guess I shouldn't keep you waiting any longer then.

Oh! But before we begin, I want to give a big hug to CarlaFox1997 for helping me come up with this chappy! =]

Don't own Naruto

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"_What do you mean it was Madara? He died decades ago, your grandfather saw to that."_

"_Then how do you explain recent events, huh? Is some look-alike going around posing as Madara? I don't think so."_

"_That's more probable than Madara being alive. And what was that about the Uchiha boy that ran away a couple years ago? How does he tie in with all this?"_

"_He wants to take down Konoha to avenge his brother Itachi's forced betrayal against his own clan. You of all people should remember what happened all those years ago considering you were two of the three that forced that mission on him."_

_Silence._

"_Well perhaps it isn't so bad that the Uchiha boy is planning an attack against Konoha, at least that way we can finish what you failed to do when he actually crosses through Konoha's detectors. A single boy can't possibly take out Konoha as a whole," spoke a smooth voice. It was the first time that the voice was heard since the meeting began._

"_That's crazy! There's no doubt that Madara would accompany him and we can't possibly stand up to him, let alone the two of them. We need to keep them out of the village the entire time, it's too risky. I say we gather all the nations shinobi to give a full out attack and take them down."_

"_And what could that possibly accomplish? You suggest that we start a war to keep the death rate down? A bit backwards don't you think?"_

_Another long pause filled the room, leaving the counselors to their own thoughts on how to solve their current predicament. The room was tense and stuffy, which wasn't surprising due to the severity of the situation._

"_We could always just let the petals fall from the tree and see where they land once the time comes," suggested the smooth voice once again._

"_So you say we should do nothing? Just let Akatsuki run around and do as they please?"_

_The voice waited a moment to weigh the consequences of the words he was about to say. "Precisely. All we must do is let Madara believe he has won."_

_The room stared at him with intrigued expressions. "What's that going to do besides give him more confidence?"_

"_He is already confident. Once he believes he has won he will let his guard down, thinking that we have all given up. In reality however, we will simply be gathering forces strong enough to end this little game of cat and mouse once and for all."_

_The room was silent once again. They were all looking for a loophole or something to prove his plan a failure but could find nothing but certain victory. They all looked around in silent agreement, deciding that this plan was the safest and most effective solution._

"_But what of Naruto?"_

"_What of Naruto?" the voice snapped back. "He is an essential part of the plan. We will see how everything unfolds before we consider his position, however. We wouldn't want to give away our last hope now would we? Let us pray that Jiraiya-Sama does a good job in training him…"_

_**SMACK!**_

"Naruto! Start learning some self control unless you want to keep getting smacked in the face!" Naruto gave his sensei a glare before sitting cross-legged for the millionth time that day, trying to gather the nature energy that surrounded him. Jiraiya had thought it would be a good idea to teach him his ace in the hole signature move. He almost decided against it, thinking that Naruto wasn't ready for such a powerful justsu, then remembered Pain and how badly Madara wanted the final jinchuriki. Besides, Naruto was always fast at picking up justsu.

_**SMACK!**_

Or so he had hoped.

"What's your problem Ero-Sennin? I'm starting to think this is all just a big excuse to play whack-a-Naruto!" the blonde stood to shout at the sannin and rubbed his sore cheek.

"Baka! This is a delicate and powerful justsu that only a select few can master! You're lucky to be under my tutelage or else you wouldn't have even heard of the technique! So pipe down and concentrate." He kept a close eye on the boy to make sure his Froggy face didn't fully transform. He was tired and hungry and the heat was making his wrappings itchy but he knew it was all for the greater good. Some almighty god would someday look upon his good deeds and reward him with a full harem of beautiful goddess women that did his every bidding…

_And then Tsunade would come and use their bodies as living punching bags, along with mine,_ he thought gravely. He heard the squelching footsteps of a toad come hopping towards them and turned to meet him.

"Actually, Jiraiya boy," the old toad began in a proud voice," You were the only one to take in nature energy without turning to stone like the ones around you." He motioned towards the stones that towered over them.

Jiraiya gave the nodding toad a soundless ''huh?''. He chortled before continuing, "What, you didn't know? You're the only human ninja that can use Sage Mode. You were the only one with the willpower and massive chakra reserves to complete the training. Didn't I tell you that before?" he stroked his beard in thought.

Jiraiya stared at him with wide, skeptical eyes. "No, you seemed to have left out that little fact that **EVERYONE **before me died trying to learn it! Jeez, you guys just take in some ten year old kid and make him go through hell without telling him the risks," he glanced at Naruto, remembering that he needed to keep his eye on him. The blonde was clearly sweating more than before and had his eyebrows pulled tightly together in uneasy concentration. Jiraiya smirked, "You hear that Naruto? If you ever want to beat me then you gotta' learn this justsu, that is, unless your training ends short and you end up as another one of Pa's lovely front yard decorations."

"Shut up Ero-Sennin! Once I get this justsu down I'm going to kick your ass for all the times you hit me!"

_**Whack!**_

Jiraiya landed a hard smack to the top of the boy's head and left him seeing stars. The boy toppled over ungracefully and held the top of his head in a fetal position, rocking back and forth on the ground. Both Jiraiya and the small toad next to him let out a tired sigh. "This is going to take a while," Jiraiya muttered under his breath in a weary voice.

They trained through the day tirelessly, stopping only to drink or tend to the numerous bruises that adorned the blonde ninja's body. And by the end of the day, everyone could enjoy a nice steaming hot dinner to fill their empty stomachs.

"Eat up before the stew gets cold!" screamed Ma from the kitchen. Naruto looked down at the _stew_ with a queasy feeling build up from his stomach, that plus the empty pit that _should_ be his stomach made looking at the _food_ unbearable. He glanced to his right, giving a dry heave upon seeing Pa gulping down the food like it he normally did when it came to Ramen, and rubbed his growling stomach with a shaky hand. He hesitantly looked over to his left, ready to push down another heave if he saw Jiraiya eating the food also, and was surprised to see the spot empty.

"Oi, where did Ero-Sennin go?" Naruto asked almost spitefully. If he was going to suffer through this meal he wasn't going to do it alone. Pa stopped mid-bite to look at the boy curiously.

"Jiraiya-boy went to walk around, says he's not hungry. That just means more for us!" Naruto didn't stick around to see him continue eating as he crawled out the front door almost desperately and ran out into the open air, inhaling deeply to get rid of the scent of baked giant worm that lingered in his nostrils. A smoky smell instantly clouded his thoughts and left his mouth watering. It was a thick and heavy scent that blocked your senses and clogged your mind with its savory meat smell. It would have any man going wild and makes starving teenage boys go absolutely animalistic. Naruto ran after the smell in a full sprint, not giving a second thought to the fact that it could have actually been a wild fire. No, it smelled to heavenly to be a wild fire.

He stumbled into a clearing that had the soft orange glow of a fire bouncing off the surrounding trees with the oh-so toasty meat that he smelled from miles away roasting lazily in the middle. Jiraiya slowly turned the spitted meat to cover the whole exterior with a nice roasted brown. The blonde felt like falling to his knees and crying tears of joy, thanking whatever god that looked over the mighty Mt. Myoboku.

"The toads here don't pray to any god, they only seek guidance from the Great Toad Sage and his prophecies," Jiraiya answered with an amused chuckle. Naruto hadn't realized that he had actually fallen to his knees and cried thanks to an unknown god, minus the tears of course, until he heard Jiraiya's voice. He blinked rapidly to clear his thoughts and immediately jumped to the fire's side.

"Where did you find this Ero-Sennin?" Naruto also felt like hugging the man until his squishy insides gushed out, but had enough control this time to keep his actions in check. The corners of Jiraiya's mouth curved up into a sly half smile as he looked at the boy.

"There are more than just toads here y'know," he scratched his jaw and removed the meat from the fire to allow it to cool. Naruto scoffed and slurped the saliva back into his mouth before it hit the floor.

"Yeah, well tell that to the crazy toad chef back in the hut. I haven't had a good meal in hours and what do they bring to the table? Freakin' WORMS!" Naruto eyed the man suspiciously, "What did you eat all those years while you trained here? I'm sure they would have found it a bit suspicious if you left to 'get some fresh air' every night."

Jiraiya raised his eyebrow and cocked his head to the side, "What, you don't think I can cook for myself? I _did _travel alone for almost half my life,_obviously _I know how to cook you baka." He pulled out the large plate that he grabbed before he had left and began slicing the meat with a deadly sharp kunai. Naruto greedily snatched the pieces up before they even fell flat and devoured them instantly, meat juice covering his entire face because of it. He let out a content sigh and slowly patted his full stomach. He stared down into the fire, lost deep in thought, letting the dancing flames pull him into a trance. Jiraiya noticed this and poked his forehead, making him jump a bit.

"Oi, what's wrong?" Jiraiya asked in a harsher tone than he meant to use. Naruto cast his eyes to the floor and pretended to be occupied with a passing lizard, not wanting to meet Jiraiya's inquiring eyes for the simple fact that he would read him perfectly. He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to form a sentence that would match how he felt.

"Well, I was just thinking and…" he paused to let out a heavy sigh and closed his eyes momentarily before lifting his gaze. "I was just wondering if maybe… you knew my parents." Jiraiya's eyes widened and alarms instantly began going off in his head, which at the moment was racing at a mile a minute to find an explanation. His shoulder was also throbbing from his body tensing up so quickly, but that was the least of his problems at the moment. He was thankful that for one, the only light was a fire which meant that his expression was harder to read, and two that Naruto was too thick to realize that he nearly made Jiraiya fall out of his log seat with those four innocent words. So like any good teacher, he choked.

Naruto waited patiently for Jiraiya's coughing fit to pass and stared at him with imploring eyes. Jiraiya finally got his voice back but stayed completely silent, unsure of what to do in a situation like this. He stared past Naruto in an attempt to loosen the boy's gaze from his squirming figure, not that it actually did any good. _Do not tell Naruto that I am his father, I want to tell him that myself._ These words rang in his ears as if someone had said then right next to his face and a picture of Minato began to form in his mind. That picture quickly dissolved into the young face of Naruto and he wondered how the boy hadn't figured it out for himself, the resemblance was uncanny.

"Well, uh, I guess you could say I knew them," he said carefully, reading Naruto's face as he did so. Naruto instantly perked up and leaned forward attentively. It broke Jiraiya's heart to see him so optimistic when he knew his next couple words would crush his hope in the blink of an eye. But he knew he had to do it.

He kept his expression stern to hide his guilt when he gave his sober answer, "It would be best if you found out for yourself. This is something that you must search for," he shut his eyes to avoid the look of crushing disappointment that he knew would eventually be shot at him.

Oh how he hated lying.

Tsunade looked out her window with a sigh. Jiraiya had been gone for almost three months already, and she hated to admit it, but she actually missed him. Sure, it was normal for him to disappear for months at a time but this time it was different, she was different, and it was showing. Her mind was always wondering to Jiraiya, making work for her nearly impossible. She would catch herself staring off for hours at times and mentally smacked herself for letting herself get distracted so easily, but what could she say, that was what love did to you. She despised love.

Nothing really eventful had happened since they got back, aside from the meeting of course, which she was thankful for. If anything else happened she was sure she would have a nervous breakdown and start running through the streets like a psycho on crack. Thanks to her helpful assistant Shizune, she has avoided such things. So as she sat there in a local bar idly sipping away her tea, she couldn't help but wonder what her toad sage was doing at the moment, not that it mattered to her of course, or so she told herself.

It bothered her, knowing that one of Konoha's best defenses was away to some freaky toad mountain that was unreachable to any _normal_person, but she didn't want Jiraiya to be normal. No, she loved him just the way he was, even if he made her want to bang her head against a brick wall at times. Or most times. But that was beside the point, whatever the point is anyways. She shook her head to try and clear her thoughts and stared deep into her small clay cup filled halfway with hot dark liquid, giving off a strong herbal sent. There were so many things that she knew she should be worrying about but just didn't have the energy to do so, not to mention she hadn't gotten any sleep for the past year or so.

She paid her bill and walked out into the crowded market that was held on the streets of Konoha every day. She started walking lazily back to her apartment and watched the passing villagers go about their everyday routines as she did so with the slightest feeling of jealousy. She always wondered what her life would have been like had she not been a ninja and usually came to the conclusion that she would have ended up bored out of her mind as some random housewife. No, she was always meant to do something great and she knew it even as a little girl. She felt a small body crash into her from behind with a grunt and a whimper as it fell to the floor. She turned around to see a young boy with wet eyes looking up at her with a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

"Hey! Watch where you're going lady!" he screamed in a choked voice. Tsunade squatted down to his height and examined him curiously. He sucked in a small intake of air upon realizing who he had just ran into and went stock still. Tsunade chuckled and pulled him up so he could stand and brushed the dust of his clothes.

"You should be careful when it's busy like this or you could get hurt," Tsunade gave him a sweet smile which made him relax a bit.

"Sorry Hokage-Sama!" he yelled before dashing off into the crowd. Tsunade continued her way towards her apartment feeling pleased with herself knowing that she had done her good deed for the day. She locked the apartment door behind her and threw herself onto her couch to watch some TV. She flipped through the channels and finally settled on watching cartoons since there wasn't anything better on.

"Aren't you a little too old to be watching cartoons?" came a silky voice from behind her. Tsunade leaped out off the couch and whipped around in a battle ready stance. Her eyes widened and she staggered backwards once she locked her gaze on a man whose face was concealed behind a bright, swirling orange mask.

"Y-you!" was all she could manage to choke out. Her mind completely shut down and her voice went with it. Only one word flashed through her empty thoughts.

**Naruto.**

"Now is that any way to greet someone princess?" he was perched on her windowsill, looking down at her like a hawk eyeing its prey.

"How did you get in here?" she yelled in a trembling voice. She heard a chuckle emit from deep in his chest, causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end and goose bumps to emerge all over her arms. His voice made her skin crawl and she could feel her knees going soft. To say he gave her the creeps would be a huge understatement.

"Tsunade Senju, granddaughter of Hashirama Senju, I believe this is our first meeting." Tsunade could just feel the cold smile that he was giving her from under his mask and gave him an icy glare. "We are related in a way, did you know? My ancestors and your ancestors both came from the same source, the Sage of Six Paths. Even if our clans are bitter rivals that does not change the fact that we are still _distant_ cousins at the very least."

"_Very _distant cousins," she said through clenched teeth. He chuckled again and leaned in slightly.

"You have something that I need, Lady Tsunade, and I am not above taking it by force," he said in a low yet threatening voice that would make anyone fall to their knees and curl up in a ball. Not Tsunade though.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she growled at him. She really didn't know what he was talking about either, hell she just met the guy! "I don't have anything of yours!"

"Oh, but you do princess," he said in a velvety voice. He was toying with her and she knew it. "What I need of you," he glided off the windowsill with unnatural grace and strode to her side until he was right in front of her and leaned forward next to her ear. "What I need is you," he whispered in a deep reverberating voice that shook her frame.

She flinched back and stared at him in disbelief, to shocked to even speak. Even from behind the mask she felt his gaze bore holes into her, paralyzing her. He turned around and looked out into the street with his hands crossed loosely behind his back in the most laid back way. He expected she would stay silent so he continued on with his explanation.

"I'm sure you've heard of my plan, no?" he turned his head slightly to the side to glance back. "For my plan to work I will need as much power as the Sage of Six Path's had when he controlled the beast, however," he turned back around to give her an unnerving stare, "to do that I need the help of a Senju."

Tsunade was almost completely sure that her brain was about to explode from all of this and part of her hoped it would just so she didn't have to think about it anymore. "What do you mean you need a Senju? Don't you have enough power by yourself?" she asked tentatively, which was rare for such a strong and controlling woman as her. Maybe that was what gave her an eerie feeling about him, she couldn't control him and they both knew it. If things came down to it he would completely slaughter her in a fight alone, but she was praying it wouldn't.

Madara flexed his hand in front of him and raised it to his face. "I have thought it over many times and have come to the conclusion that I am not nearly powerful enough to control such a powerful beast, especially in this worn state. Did you know that the Uchiha adopted the Sage's 'eyes' which meant the power of his chakra and spiritual energy, while the Senju adopted his 'body' meaning his willpower and physical strength. His power was split between our two ancestors, his two sons. By bringing the two together once more I believe that I can obtain the strength necessary to control the Jyubi and continue on with bringing this broken world the peace that it has longed for," he clenched his fist tight and opened it again to hold a gloved hand out to her. "You, princess, are the last surviving Senju, the last surviving half that is necessary to my plan. That is why I need you."

A deafening silence hung in the air between the two powerful ninja. It was as if the world had stopped in its tracks, to dumbfound by his words to continue onwards. They just stood there, Tsunade with a look of utter astonishment plain in her features. She opened her mouth to retaliate but no words would come out. How were you supposed to respond to something like that? The answer, you don't. You just stand there and stare at them like a brain dead monkey who just saw a banana start break dancing in front of them. Well it was working for Tsunade, wasn't it?

Tsunade didn't know what it was but something suddenly snapped inside her and her blood started boiling in a fiery rage. A dark shadow passed over her face and she stepped forward menacingly. "You will _not _succeed in making the world your playhouse because you will **never **lay a hand on Naruto! He is a strong and powerful shinobi who never gives up, just like his sensei, and he will be the end of you." She was right in his face with a look of unrivaled fury on her face.

And there was that ominous laugh again that made her squirm even in her rage. "You say Uzumaki Naruto will be the end of me?" he let out a bellowing laugh that made her ears ring long after he finished. "Naruto will never beat me because he depends too much on those around him. Sasuke is a lone wolf that can take down any obstacle even in that lonesome state of mind because that is what he runs on, hate and betrayal and revenge. Naruto will end up just like his parents, a meaningless sacrifice for a worthless village full of hidden lies and death."

And that is when she really snapped.

She pulled her arm way back and shot it forward with enough power to smash through steel with a hate that she didn't think was possible to feel towards someone. She wanted to smash that damned mask into a million pieces and pummel his face in until it was nothing but a puddle of blood that she would then proceed to boil and feed to the ruthless monsters that, according to Jiraiya, dwelled at the peak of Mt. Myoboku. She was waiting for the sweet, gratifying crunch that would come when her fist made contact but instead heard a strange_ whish_ sound followed by the sound of her wall exploding from the force behind her punch. She looked back with wide eyes at realizing that he didn't dodge her punch, no, she went _through _him, like a phantom that can pass through walls and lurks in the shadows. Yes, that's exactly what he was, a phantom. He was an inhuman being that is still connected to the earth for some unknown reason.

He wasn't human.

"Now, now Tsunade, no need to get violent." He spoke to her like a parent would speak to their child to stop them from destroying the furniture. She shot him a violent glare and swung a kick from the top of his head down his entire body. There was that _whish _sound again and her foot met the floor, smashing the hardwood into dust.

"Shut up! Your nothing but a coward who won't fight!" she didn't care if she sounded like a kid who wasn't getting their way, she just wanted to kill him. She wanted to feel his bones crunch under her strength, wanted to feel his blood run from his wounds onto her hand when she sliced through the hole that should be his heart. He crossed his arms over his chest and sighed.

"I told you I would use force if I had to, so you brought this onto yourself Tsunade." Those words were the last words that she heard before the room around her began to swirl like it was being sucked into a tiny hole, then everything went black and all she could hear was the sound of her heart pounding in her ears and throughout her body. She couldn't open her eyes, or move at all for that matter, but it didn't seem to matter because it was almost as if she was… floating. She felt weightless and light as she floated along in an unknown place but for some reason she couldn't help but feel like everything would be okay, like nothing would hurt her. As she listened closer she did hear something, so soft and far away that she almost thought that she was imagining it. But it seemed to be getting closer and she recognized it to be a woman singing with a beautiful voice that soothed her soul. The words sounded like gibberish, an unknown language maybe, but she got the message just the same. She was singing about love and peace and friendship, all the things that Madara was trying to get rid of. The singing wasn't allowing her to be angry at him though, no matter how hard she tried she couldn't feel any hate towards the man, only understanding. She could feel a warm light surround her and could feel it heat her skin liked the sun. She tried desperately to open her eyes but seemed to have no control over her muscles. So she let herself float along listening to the soothing chant of the woman while she was bathed in warm light and everything felt right in the world. Everything was just so perfect. Then a thought came to her that made all that perfection come crumbling down on her like a ton of bricks.

_I have to warn Naruto and Jiraiya._

She felt herself falling, the voice stopped singing and was replaced by a chorus of screams and wails, the warm light was gone and soon she felt the bitter chill of ice bite her bare skin. She just kept falling and falling and when she could finally open her eyes the only thing that was looking back at her were a pair of swirling blood red eyes that swallowed her whole and left her again in nothing but smothering darkness.

_Knock knock knock._

"Come in."

The door creaked open to reveal a boy with short, spiky jet black hair that was streaked with shades of gold wearing a white Anbu mask that somewhat resembled a cat with small slits for eyes and a pulled back feline face with short pointy ears on top. It had deep blue markings decorating it all over. "Sir," he said in a smooth voice, "I have news regarding the Hokage."

The man who was seated in a throne like chair leaned forward to urge him to continue. The lean boy in the mask knelt down to one knee and bowed his head in respect. "It seems that Lady Tsunade has gone suddenly missing."

The man seated in his throne let out a dark chuckle and in a gravelly voice said, "It seems that Tsunade has finally realized her worthlessness as a leader and fled." He waved a hand towards the kneeling boy to dismiss him. "Thank you for the news, Kanosuke. You may leave now."

Kanosuke bowed his head once more before backing out of the room and locking the door. He stood in the empty hall, staring at the dark oak wood door while biting his bottom lip anxiously._ Please be all right Hokage-Sama. If he takes over the Hokage seat then… _the thought was too horrible for him to finish. He looked at the door one last time before dashing off down the hall silently as to not get anyone's attention so he could warn the others.

"Just close your eyes and let the medicine do its job," Sakura whispered in a sweet voice. The girl gave her a weak nod and closed her eyes like she was told to. Sakura hated treating wounded children because it always broke her heart to see ones so small get injured so severely. Luckily this one was only minor burns from a justsu gone wrong. Sakura pulled the blanket up higher and walked out the door to take her lunch break.

As she walked down the hall out the door, a boy came crashing into her at a hundred miles an hour, causing both of them to go smashing into the floor. Everyone stopped to give them strange looks before going back to their jobs. Sakura opened her eyes to find the room spinning and tried her best to push the heavy boy off of her. The boy shot up and whipped his head back and forth to see what happened and gasped when he realized that he had ran straight into the person he was searching for. "Are you Haruno Sakura?" he asked through gasps for air from running for so long.

Sakura finally got up and grabbed him by his shirt, shooting daggers at him with her eyes. "Baka! Watch where you're going! You can't ju-"

"I need to talk to you **now**!" he interrupted as he pulled her out the door by her arm. She yelped in surprise and stumbled out the door to keep up with the strange boy.

"Where are you taking me?" she yelled at him angrily. She didn't have any business with the Anbu, and besides, this guy seemed like a total weirdo! He glanced back but kept silent the rest of the trip. He dragged her all the way up to the Hokage tower, a place that she visited often, but never under these circumstances. He pulled her along the corridors and barged into the Hokage's office, quickly locking the door behind him.

Sakura yanked her arm back and glared at the boy, "Who the hell are you and what do you want with me?" she yelled in an irritated tone. She was missing out on her lunch to be with this weirdo and he had better have a good reason for it. He turned around and pulled the mask away from his face to reveal a youthful face, maybe a couple years older than her, with creamy pale skin. He looked at her with eyes that were an intense mix of green and yellow with slits running through the middle for pupils, which startled her a bit.

"Forgive me, my name is Kanosuke," he bowed his head slightly and looked back up with wide eyes. "I have to tell you something concerning Lady Tsunade," he paused and struggled to find his words.

"Well hurry up because you're wasting my lunch," she growled, trying to resist the urge to punch him.

"Hokage-Sama has gone missing!" he spat out, squeezing his eyes tight and looking away like it hurt him to say it. Sakura sucked in a surprised breath and gave him an incredulous stare.

"You're kidding," she whispered in a small voice, telling it more so to herself than anyone else. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him violently, "What do you mean Tsunade-Sama is missing? Where is she?" she screamed at him in an urgent voice. His eyes shot open and he pushed her off of him.

"I don't know!" he was breathing heavily as he walked to the large window to jab a finger out towards the large village. "All I know is that if she doesn't come back soon then Konoha will end up being ruled by a ruthless tyrant!"

Sakura groaned and covered her face with her hands, "What are you talking about? What tyrant? More importantly, where is Tsunade-Sama?" she looked at the boy for a response, who was pacing back in forth in thought.

"Lady-Tsunade has been missing for two days now and nobody knows where she is, not even me." Sakura eyed the boy suspiciously and stopped him in his tracks to make him face her.

"How come you're the only person who knew Tsunade-Sama was missing," she questioned challengingly. His mouth was a hard line and his features instantly darkened.

"I was keeping a close eye on her for someone," was his vague reply. Sakura gave him a glare, which he ignored. "The man that I am working for… he wants the Hokage position, that is why he wanted me to watch Hokage-Sama, he was expecting for something to happen." He turned his back to her, "If he becomes Hokage then Konoha will become a village of lies, a village in the shadows. That is how he works."

"What man are you talking about? Don't you work for the Anbu?" Sakura asked him in a confused voice. He tilted his head to the side and let out a disturbing chuckle.

"I work as a spy. I am the mole for the man I work for," he talked in a bitter tone that was dripping with acid towards the man. He turned back around and spread his arms out at his sides, "Don't you see? We need to get Lady Tsunade back! If we don't," he sighed and slumped over in defeat. Sakura straightened her back and walked back to the door with all helplessness gone. "Hey, where are you going?" he yelled after her.

"We aren't helping by just standing here," she replied without breaking stride. She continued walking to the front in search of Shizune and called out her name when she spotted the raven haired kunoichi.

"Hi Sakura-Chan! Hey, have you seen Lady Tsunade anywhere? I was looking for her and-"

"Listen to me Shizune, Tsunade has gone missing and if we don't find her soon then Konoha is going to be screwed," the words flowed out of her mouth like water and she was pretty sure she made Shizune's heart stop for a full minute. The clipboard that she was holding dropped to the floor with a clatter and her hands flew to her mouth.

"What? Lady Tsunade is missing! Where is she, how come she's gone, did something happen to her, did she get in trouble, who-"

"Shizune! Calm down!" Sakura laid a firm hand on her wrist and pulled her back up to the Hokage office. "I have someone that you need to meet. He's the one that told me everything." She walked into the office and went straight up to Kanosuke, who was sitting on the couch with his head in his hands, and directed Shizune in front of him. "Kanosuke here will explain the details since he's the one who told me," she stated in a commanding voice, which earned a glare from a pair of feline eyes.

Kanosuke stood to his full height and let out a nervous sigh. "Ah, where to start?" he told Shizune the same story he had told Sakura with a grave expression clear in his face. Shizune had to take a seat in the middle of his explanation for the simple reason that if she didn't she would surely collapse. Sakura was watching him closely when a question suddenly popped into her brain, a question that scolded she scolded herself for because it never occurred to her before. Who was this guy? She knew most too all the ninja in the village but she had never seen or even heard of him before, which was strange because she was positive she would have remembered anyone that had eyes like that.

"We have to search for her," Shizune's said with finality, bringing Sakura out of her thoughts. Kanosuke fidgeted where he stood, earning Sakura's attention. She walked around him and looked directly into his vibrant eyes.

"You're not telling us everything," it wasn't a question, but more of a demand for him to spill it. His eyes flickered back and forth between the two in uncertainty. Shizune also stood and glowered at the hesitant boy.

Kanosuke raised his hands defensively and started to back away slowly. "Okay, okay. I overheard my boss once and he said something about a man, I think he said his name was Madoro or something like that." They both gave him a quizzical look before the gears in their heads finally clicked.

"Madara!" they both yelled out in synch, making Kanosuke jump a bit. Shizune whipped her head to the left and looked at Sakura for a split second before diving over to Tsunade's desk and began to dig through the drawer full of scrolls, tossing many to the floor carelessly. "Lady Tsunade has a scroll to summon Naruto-kun and Jiraiya-Sama back from Mt. Myoboku!" she explained to the two confused ninja. She grabbed a scroll with a loud "Aha!" and quickly unrolled it to reveal complicated symbols and markings spread out on the entire paper. She threw it on the ground hard and did the required hand signs before pulling her arm back and slamming it down. "Kuchiyose no justsu!"

White smoke filled the room and blinded the three momentarily. Through the smoke they made out two figures that stood in the middle of the room, obviously startled from being pulled into another dimension so suddenly. "Oi, what are we doing back in Konoha?" they heard a deep voice tear through the fading smoke and were finally able to make out the features of the two ninja. Naruto was dressed in a simple black shirt and knee length orange shorts while Jiraiya stood there clad in a thin loose fitting white and red robe that was for the most part open in the front leaving his chest bare. He examined the worried faces of the three ninja around them and in the end locked onto the unfamiliar face that stood next to the desk. _Something isn't right, _he thought to himself. Naruto was still in shock from being summoned to realize the tension that hung heavy in the air.

He then realized what was so strange besides the worried faces of the ninja that looked at him uncertainly. Shizune had been the one to summon him instead of Tsunade, the person that he gave the scroll to. In fact, Tsunade wasn't in the room at all… He glanced around hesitantly everyone's averted faces and knit his eyebrows together.

"Where is Tsunade?"

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Yikes, that one took quite awhile to write didn't it? My excuse this time? Well I had a severe case of writers block and would just stare at the screen for like 20 minutes and not write anything.

I hope I kind of made up for my lameness by making this chappy extra long and I hope you guys don't hate me for it. (Insert puppy dog pout) I've actually planned out where I'm going to take it this time so worry not! Review on the chappy, or just yell at me, below! Thankz for reading =]


	8. Chapter 8: The Hunt

Don't own Naruto

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"What did you just say?" Jiraiya asked Shizune in a small voice. He could see her lips moving but all he heard was the ringing in his ears matched with the pounding of his erratic heart. He suddenly felt extremely dizzy and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder for balance. He couldn't think, let alone talk. It was as if his mind had just completely shut down. He could hear the faint sound of Naruto's loud voice cut through his haze and echo in his ears. Tsunade was missing? That's impossible, she's the Hokage and a talented ninja that would pulverize anyone to a pulp if they tried to kidnap her.

Memories of all the times that he had to save her began to flood his brain and he felt the sudden urge to throw up. He felt a gentle hand being laid on his shoulder to comfort him and found that it belonged to Sakura. He looked up and was surprised to see how much she reminded him of Tsunade when they were young, except Tsunade would never try to comfort him of course. Seeing her made him feel even worse.

"I'm sorry Jiraiya-sama, but we didn't find out until just now and there was nothing we could do to help her," Sakura whispered regretfully. He stood straight and scanned everyone with hard eyes. He realized that he had to be strong for the rest of the village even though he took the hardest hit. If he didn't, no one else would. He rested once again on the pale face of Kanosuke and gestured to him with his chin.

"Who invited the Anbu?'' he asked with cynical, squinted eyes. A crooked smile formed on the boy's lips to reveal a single sharp canine.

"If it wasn't for me you wouldn't have even got the news _Jiraiya-sama_," he replied, adding extra emphasis on each syllable. Everyone in the room shot him a glare but dismissed the insult. Jiraiya let it slide, worrying more about the bigger problems at hand. He walked up to Shizune and lowered himself to her height so he could bring his face next to hers.

"You know what we have to do," he stated in a low, steady voice. He could see her nod in the corner of his eye and stood straight once again to make his announcement. Everyone was looking up at him with hopeless faces and he felt another hundred pounds get added to the already unbearable weight that he held on his shoulders. He swallowed hard before speaking, "As shinobi of Konoha, you know what we must do. Our Hokage has gone missing and could be in danger as we speak, so we have no time to waste. Sakura," he walked up to the pink haired girl and handed her the paper that he had been hastily scribbling on. "I need you to gather up these people for me. Tell them to prepare for the worst." She gave him a quick "Hai" before poofing away in a cloud off thick white smoke.

"I'll alert the other lords about Lady Tsunade's disappearance," Shizune stated to the remaining ninja before leaving the room in the same fashion as Sakura before her.

Jiraiya gave Naruto a crooked grin. "Looks like it's time to put all that training to use, eh Naruto?" he asked as he ruffled the blonde's already unruly hair. Naruto gave him a toothy grin in return and cracked his knuckles loudly.

"I thought you'd never ask Ero-Sennin," he growled in a gravelly voice. With that he turned and dashed out the door to pack his bags. An awkward silence filled the room between the two males and Kanosuke felt extremely out of place in the group. Everyone else seemed to be close to the Hokage, and him, well he was just her stalker. Needless to say he felt awkward around the man who was undoubtedly the closest to the rowdy woman. _Maybe if I just slipped out the win-_

"Don't think I've forgotten about you Anbu boy," Jiraiya interrupted his thoughts with a menacing voice. Kanosuke cursed silently before turning to meet the man's glare. Jiraiya crossed his arms over his chest and slowly walked up to the boy. "I don't know who you are but I know how shady the Anbu are, as I should considering how long I was a captain for them. And you my friend," he jabbed a finger into his chest," are extremely suspicious. I suggest you walk in front of me because I'm not exactly in a trusting mood at the moment. But you seem to know something, something that all the rest of us don't, so you're coming along for the ride." he gave him one last dark smile before walking to the giant window that adorned the room. "Oh yeah," he looked back over his shoulder with a more serious expression," if I find out that you had a hand in this, I promise you I_ will_ kill you without a moment's hesitation." With that he hopped down, leaving only a frowning Kanosuke left.

_Well I guess it's finally begun, _he thought with a heavy sigh. He had anticipated something like this would happen and what did he do? Absolutely nothing. Not that he could have done anything to stop it. He knew the truth though, and to be honest, he wished he didn't. The truth scared him and he wanted no part of it, not that he had a choice. He gave a quick glance out the window to lock the picture of a perfect Konoha in his mind forever. For all he knew, it might be the last time he saw it.

Jiraiya inspected the gathered shinobi carefully with the feeling of unease building in his stomach. _Is it really okay to bring the chunin in like this,_he kept asking himself. They all looked at him confidently, ready for action and willing to do anything to get their Hokage back. He sighed and ran a hand through his spiky hair. They were so young, so new to the world, yet they risked their lives for the sake of the village so daringly that it made him sick. He hated the thought of war and violence, of death and destruction, but he lived a life that was full of it and would no doubt stay in that spiral of hate and betrayal because that was what the ninja world was all about. And this is the result. This is all that they had to show for, a missing leader and lover.

Kakashi and Yamato joined his side and examined the team in front of them. Yamato gave the sannin a nervous glance and turned to face him. "Shouldn't we call someone like the Anbu to take care of such an important mission Jiraiya-sama? I know that these are all excellent shinobi, but this mission has no room for error." He looked to Kakashi for support but got only a curiously raised eyebrow from the gray-haired man. Jiraiya couldn't help but smile at his concern.

"No offense, but I don't trust the Anbu and I never will, besides, do you really think these rascals would take no for an answer?" he didn't wait for a reply and walked forward to address the anxious group. "We are going to need our best trackers up front so Hinata, Kiba, and Shino, you guys are going to lead the way with the help of Kakashi's tracking dogs. Behind them will be Sakura and Lee, the hard hitters in the group that can back up the trackers right away in case we get ambushed. Following them will be Naruto and Shikamaru; you guys are the counter attackers that will back up the front. After them will be," he stopped, the corners of his mouth twitched into a faint smile. "Anbu boy, you're staying in front of me just like I promised. Kakashi, Yamato, and I will stay in the back to make sure no one tries to sneak up on us. You guys got that?" The young ninjas nodded eagerly in response. "All right then!" he placed his hands on hips and puffed his chest out, "Let's bring our Hokage back, ya?"

"Yeah and when we do we're going to give her hell for disappearing right Ero-Sennin?" Naruto said with a goofy grin, earning a punch to the back of the head from Sakura. Jiraiya chuckled to himself and took one last look at the buzzing village before turning to the dense forest that lied in its borders._ Don't you dare die on me Hime_, he thought nervously.

They sped through the forest effortlessly in the planned positions, all scanning their surroundings for any suspicious movements. Jiraiya watched Kanosuke closely, studying his movements carefully to try and catch any quirks that may tell him something about the mysterious boy. From what he saw he didn't hold any characteristics that belonged to the ninja clans that dwelled in Konoha and his armor was unmarked by a clan symbol. He changed out of his Anbu gear, Jiraiya noticed, and into that of a jonin's with the exception of the intricately carved bow staff that was strapped to his back.

As if reading the sannin's thoughts, Kakashi moved closer. "Who's the kid?" he questioned while gesturing to Kanosuke. Jiraiya frowned before locking back onto the boy.

"I was hoping you could tell me," he mumbled in reply. Yamato, after seeing the two shinobi talk among themselves, hopped to a tree nearby out of curiosity as to what the men were talking about. Kakashi shot him a glance and casually slipped his hands into his pockets while hopping to the tree adjacent to the man.

"You're in the Anbu Tenzo, have you ever seen that kid before?" Kakashi inquired while still looking forward. Yamato scowled at being called his old name and looked Kanosuke down from head to toe.

"I've never seen him before, are you sure he's in the Anbu?"

"According to Jiraiya-sama he is," Kakashi said in a cautious tone. He looked back to Jiraiya, "Why did you bring him again?"

Jiraiya's eyes hardened at the memory. "He knows something about what happened to Tsunade, something that no one else knows. And as much as I hate it, we need to bring him. We need everything we can get to find out what happened to her. "They all went silent, each buried in his own thoughts and speculations. The silence swept through the group and left an eerie calm throughout the desolate forest. Hinata kept a three-sixty watch around the group while Kiba and Shino tried to pick up any tracks or scents that the Hokage had left behind. Kiba grimaced at a smell that burned his nostrils and turned back to glare at the boy who's smell travelled to the front.

"You smell like cat," he growled at Kanosuke. The boy lazily drifted his eyes to meet Kiba's.

"And you stink like dog but you don't hear me complaining," he countered in a monotone voice. Kiba could feel the vein on the side of his head pop out but bit his tongue and took his place once again next to Akimaru. Naruto's stifled laughter caught Kanosuke's attention and he gave the boy a blank look. "You're not much better foxy." Naruto could hear the low growl of the Kyubi from deep inside of him and didn't fight it as it escaped his lips.

By the time they reached the border they were more than disheartened from not finding even the slightest trace of their Hokage. The front ninjas stopped and waited for more orders from their leader, who was at the moment worried out of his mind. He looked out into the setting sun with a sigh, it was nearly night and they still wanted to keep going despite being too tired to step another inch, but to where? Where would they search next? He hopped down from the tree branch that he landed on and out of the forest that protected Konoha from any invaders. They now stood in a clear prairie that stretched out for miles with nothing but a single winding dirt road that cut through the middle of the green landscape like a divider. The groups of shinobi were sitting on the ground, to beat to stand from hopping from tree to tree for hours at end. Jiraiya and Kakashi both looked at Yamato sympathetically. Yamato groaned, already knowing what they were going to ask of him, and clapped his hands together in concentration.

The sound of creaking wood filled the quiet field and the sitting teenagers all turned around curiously to see what was making the noise. What they saw made their day. Standing tall in front of them was a giant wooden house that looked to be a mile high and a mile long with a set of stairs leading to the welcoming entrance of the estate. Naruto jumped up in joy and dashed up the stairs to twirl around and look down with his arms spread wide.

"Who's up for a game of truth or dare?" he yelled loud enough for the country over to hear. Everyone groaned and trudged up the stairs and past the still beaming boy, all except Lee who seemed just as excited about the idea. They sat in a circle around the fire that was in the center of the room and basked in its warmth. Naruto squeezed himself between Kiba and Hinata, who was blushing madly at the close contact with the oblivious teen, and clapped his hands together in front of his mouth to decide who his first victim would be. After a minute of silence, he perked up, "Sakura-Chan!" he chirped, "Truth or dare?"

Sakura put her face in her hands and groaned quietly. "Dare," she said hesitantly.

A wolfish grin spread across his and he looked at her through hooded eyes. "Fine then, I dare you to kiss me," he said as he puckered his lips. Sakura grinned and walked sensually towards him with her hips swaying left to right. Everyone looked at her with incredulous eyes, not believing what they were seeing. Even Kakashi looked over the top of his book to see what was going on between his two students.

Sakura stopped in front of him and bent low until she was at eye-level. Naruto closed his eyes and leaned in slowly but stopped abruptly upon feeling cold metal being pressed against his throat. His eyes shot open to see the icy glare that Sakura was giving him while holding the sharp kunai to his throat. "If you **ever **try to kiss me again, I'll cut off your favorite appendage, along with your head," she hissed in a voice just loud enough for him to hear, but when she walked away Naruto had the most terrified look on his face that the others couldn't help but laugh. She sat back down looking as cheerful as ever and chuckled at his face also. "Okay, my turn," she stated once everyone had calmed down. She hummed to herself while she looked around the circle for someone to choose and eventually fell onto the covered face of Kakashi, who was leaning against the wall away from the circle. "Kakashi-Sensei, truth or dare?"

"I'm not part of your little game," he mumbled without looking up from his book.

"Oh come on Kakashi, don't be such a stick in the mud," Jiraiya coaxed him while nudging the man with his elbow. Kakashi sighed and reluctantly closed his book.

"Fine, truth," he said in an irritated voice. Sakura placed a finger to her mouth in thought and nearly started bursting into laughter when she came up with something to say.

"Okay, is it true that you masturbate to those books?" she asked between giggles. The circle instantly began howling with laughter as they looked at the ninja with tearful eyes. A barely visible blush spread across his face and he looked away from them to mutter his answer. "What was that Sensei?" Sakura asked teasingly.

"Yes!" he accidently screamed then quickly stiffened and buried his face back into his book. At first they all went silent but seconds later started laughing even harder than before. They started to settle down again after at least five minutes and prepared for the next round. Kakashi realized it was his turn and looked spitefully at the man next to him, the man that persuaded him into playing in the first place. "Jiraiya-sama," he started, "truth or dare?" _Please say truth, _he thought hopefully.

Jiraiya closed his eyes to contemplate which to choose. "Truth," he finally answered. Nothing good ever came from picking dare.

Kakashi chuckled darkly and in a devious voice said, "Is it true that you're sleeping with Hokage-sama?"

The whole room went still. Nobody could believe what they just heard, or maybe didn't _want_ to believe they heard it. They had never really thought of their rowdy, tomboyish hokage as being the romantic. Jiraiya on the other hand, well nobody doubted that he's seen a naked woman before. The only thing that could be heard was Jiraiya's low chuckle. "You've got it all wrong Kakashi," he said casually. The whole room eased up and everyone seemed to have let out the breath that they were holding. Until he started to talk again, that is. "I'm not sleeping with her, she's sleeping with me. You can't blame her though, I'm just that irresistible."

Naruto was the first to break into a laughing fit, and was then followed by Kiba and eventually they were all holding their sides from laughing so hard, even Sakura who was blushing like crazy from hearing who her master was intimate with. Jiraiya scanned the room for someone that he knew would hate to be called on and found the perfect person.

"Shino!" he exclaimed, "I hardly noticed you there cuz' you're so mellow. Truth or dare?" No one could see the surprise on his face from being called on since he wore nearly everything he could to keep his face covered, but it was most definitely there.

"Dare," he said without a moment's hesitation. No way was he about to tell one of his deepest secrets to these idiots.

"Smart boy," Jiraiya commented with a smirk. "Fine then, I dare you to," he paused for a moment to think of the weirdest dare he could and smiled even wider when it came to him. "Go and spell out 'I love boobies' high in the sky for everyone to see with your bugs." Kiba instantly burst into laughter and started to roll on the floor from laughing so hard. Shino grudgingly walked to window and stuck his arms out so his bugs could come flying out. They swarmed into the sky and began spelling out _**I love boobies**_ with the bright moon as his canvas. "Don't forget to sign it," Jiraiya added through laughs. He sat back down in the snickering circle with a hidden scowl and whipped his head to the side to look at Kiba, who was using Akimaru as his oversized pillow.

"Kiba, truth or dare," he said in a deep commanding voice. Kiba rolled his eyes and snorted loudly.

"Dare, duh, why'd you even bother asking," he said obnoxiously. Shino lowered his head in thought.

"I dare you to waltz with that giant bear that you call a dog," he said almost seconds later. Kiba hopped up, attempting to pull Akimaru up with him.

"Let's show these losers how it's done Akimaru!" he exclaimed once he brought thee whimpering dog to a stand. They began to clumsily stumble around the room together in a twisted version of the waltz while everyone whistled and laughed. He sat back down breathlessly and through pants said, "Okay, I'm beat. I'll see you guys tomorrow morning 'kay?" the group mumbled their goodnights and eventually let their eyes slip shut to gain some much needed rest.

Kakashi lowered his book slowly and gently laid it on the floor to look out the window and see the moon shine bright among a blanket of small stars that seemed to constantly try and outshine the massive orb. Jiraiya quietly tip-toed his way through the tangle of bodies that spread themselves out on the floor carelessly to lean out the window next to the jonin and join him in his star gazing. Kakashi sensed him there and spun to lean his back against the window and tried to read the older man's face. The moonlight seemed to make him look noticeably older, but he suspected it was also due to the stress of recent events. He couldn't blame him, everyone was on edge lately.

"Do you think she's okay?" Jiraiya finally asked, breaking through the still night with his voice. Kakashi leaned his head back and stared once again at the bright sky above.

"I honestly don't know," he answered truthfully. He saw Jiraiya's shoulders slump in the corner of his eye and quickly wished he had just kept his mouth shut. "Gomenasai Jiraiya-Sama, I just meant that-"

"No need to apologize Kakashi, I'm just tired is all," Jiraiya lied in a weary voice, though in partial truth since he was quite tired. He patted the gray haired man's shoulder before walking back to his designated sleeping spot, "Get some sleep Kakashi, a tired shinobi is worse than no shinobi at all," he said with a small smile and disappeared into the darkness. Kakashi couldn't help but admire him, because even in these desperate times he managed to put on a genuine smile that lightened people's day and kept a spring in his step. He knew how hard he was trying though and felt an unshakable guilt take a hold of him for not doing his part in keeping the Hokage safe while he was off to train Naruto at Mt. Myoboku. He closed his eyes and took his spot next to a heavily snoring Yamato to try and allow himself at least a couple hours of blissful nothingness.

Blinding light rays streaked in through the open windows and cracks in the wooden complex and shone down on the unsuspecting teens that dwelled inside it. The air was filled with a chorus of groans and yawns as the sleepy ninja began the start of a new day. They went about their normal morning routines and started to pack up their scattered belongings before walking out into the chilly late morning air. The sound of groaning wood could be heard behind them as Yamato sunk the wood back into the soft earth and out of sight. And without a word, they continued on.

Tsunade rolled her head to the side and opened her heavy eyelids to try and get a hold of her surroundings. Her head was light and her body was limp, making her feel open and vulnerable in the smothering darkness. She heard absolutely nothing, not even her own slow breathing. She couldn't sense, feel, or even smell anything. It was as if someone had picked through her brain and completely shut down her natural senses. She felt so lost, so small in the disturbing stillness and wanted to curl up into a small ball to hide from the world, but her limbs wouldn't budge no matter how hard she tried. She couldn't form a single coherent thought so decided to focus her energy on trying to move, if only a little. Something like a spark flashed in the back of her mind, but was gone before she could even register what it was, or even if it was anything at all. After a long wait it flashed again but for longer this time and with much more intensity. She wasn't seeing it, but it was undoubtedly there. The longer she saw the light, the bigger it got until it was blinding her and eventually it swallowed her whole.

All her senses came rushing back and the shock hit her like a cannon. The sound of birds and rustling leaves and wildlife flooded her ears. The smell of wood and grass clogged her nose while bright sunlight shone in through her eyelids. She could feel the soft, wet, dew covered grass begin to soak through her clothes and she curled her toes to dig deeper into the soil. She slowly opened her eyes so they could become accustomed to the newfound light and weakly pulled herself up to a sitting position. She was still weak but had enough energy to stand so she carefully wobbled to a stand and did a three-sixty scan of the forest she was in. she could tell right away that she wasn't in Konoha, which didn't surprise her at all, yet it still seemed vaguely familiar, like a far of memory or dream that she once had long ago. But she couldn't quite place her finger on it no matter how hard she tried to remember.

It turns out she didn't need to try.

She heard a high pitched laugh from behind her and turned to see a small girl no higher than her kneecaps skipping with a high blonde ponytail. The girl was all alone but didn't seem to care as she happily pranced through the desolate forest like it was her own personal playground. She silently watched the girl dance past her and onward to the edge of the clearing where she finally stopped to look back and beckon to Tsunade with a finger pressed against her lips to tell her to keep quiet. Tsunade wanted to question the girl, but her legs seemed to have a mind of their own as she made her way to forward. She could feel the moist soil give way under her bare feet as she padded her way to the girl's side. Without looking up, the girl continued to skip ahead, deeper and deeper into the dense forest. Sooner or later the thick cluster of overhead branches blocked out any traces of sunlight, leaving them blind as they continued forth. Tsunade could barely make out the tiny shape of the girl that she was following and on more than one occasion began to lose her. The tiny girl surely knew where she was going and expertly weaved her way though all of the gnarled and twisted roots that were just waiting for someone to trip over them. Just as the anxiety of being lost began to well up in the Hokage, the girl stopped and peered over a low bush before grabbing Tsunade's hand and pulling her into the light. She automatically threw a hand up to shield her eyes but found that she didn't need to.

They stood on the edge of a rocky cliff that stood miles above the ground below. What surprised Tsunade the most was the blanket of brilliant lights that covered every inch of the sky like a Christmas tree. The small girl gazed up admiringly at the lights and kept her tiny hand in Tsunade's. It didn't hit her that they weren't stars until she looked closer to see what they really were. When she did, she couldn't believe her eyes. The _stars _that she was seeing were actually not stars but explosions, millions of them.

"This is what we have been waiting for," the girl spoke in a disturbingly calm voice. Tsunade looked down with wide eyes and tried pulling her hand away from the girl's, but she had one hell of a grip. "This is what the world needs," she continued, ignoring Tsunade's desperate attempt to break away. "This is retribution for our sins. This is what will bring salvation to our hopeless world. This is the end and the beginning, the start and the finish. This. Is. **God.**"

Her voice was demonic and menacing at the mention of god and Tsunade tried even harder to break free of the girl's abnormally strong grasp. She could feel tears of frustration, horror, and fear begin to well up in her eyes. What they were looking at wasn't a bright night, but instead the end of the world as they know it. And before she could even think to move, the girl shoved her into the fiery pit below. She covered her face with her arms and shut her eyes closed to prepare for the burning, but instead felt something cold and metallic against her skin.

She whipped her head up so fast it nearly gave her whiplash. Her whole surroundings had changed from the world's end to a dark and musty lab. It reeked with the heavy stench of blood that she knew all to well and it burned her lungs. She covered her mouth and nose with the lapel of her robe before going any farther. What she saw around her made her stomach heave. There were dozens of _experiments _lying around have finished and still open for the world to see. Some had been split down the middle where their intestines and other vital organs threatened to spill out while others where missing their inside all together. But that wasn't the worst of it. What really made her heave wasn't the fact that they were all grotesquely cut open, but that some of them were still _alive._

The deeper she travelled the worst it got. Now there weren't only open experiments, but also morbid hybrids that ranged from half man half bird to half man half centipede. They all clawed and growled at her through the bars on their filthy cages like wild beasts. She saw a boy with empty sockets for eyes staring blankly at the wall and a man with a bloodied bone tail that was half his size growing out from the bottom of his spine, writhing on the floor in agony as it continued to grow. She saw a woman gnawing at the chains that bound her feet to the ground with razor sharp teeth that filled her mouth in rows.

It was like a horrible, endless nightmare that she couldn't wake up from no matter how tight she squeezed her eyes shut. Even if she couldn't see them, she could still hear their moans and snarls that echoed in the high ceiling room. She couldn't take it anymore and went into a dead sprint for the exit. She could still hear the thundering roars and bellows fly past her as she dashed down the extensive hall. She didn't care if she couldn't see where she was going because her eyes were still sowed shut, she just wanted to get out of that hellhole. And she did.

She reached the end of the hall to run into a massive steel door. She wrenched it open with superhuman strength and slammed the giant steel door behind her. She let her legs go numb and slumped against the cold metal to catch her breath. She was safe, no more nightmares. The low rumble of a man's laugh made her blood go cold. She opened her eyes to see a man bent over a small boy that couldn't be an older than five with a giant needle. The boy was strapped to a blood stained seat that was reclined so only the dim glow of the harsh lamp from above made his face visible. The burly man gave Tsunade a vicious grin before plunging the needle into the boy's neck to drain the blue liquid into him. The boy shrieked in agonizing pain and strained against the leather confines that had him strapped in place. His veins popped out in a sickening blue glow and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Tsunade watched in horror as the man injected him again and again , one on each arm, making his pain tenfold. She tried to scream, but nothing would come out. The boy was struggling madly and Tsunade was almost surprised that the leather was able to hold him down. Blood started to leak from his eyes and ears like a steady stream and his knuckles went bone white from him clenching his hand in such a tight ball. His high screams were replaced with the guttural roaring of some satanic beast. His blue veins turned a bright red and they looked as if they would burn through his skin as they made a symmetrical tattoo-like pattern all along his body from his face to his feet. A sinister black aura surrounded him like a cloak and blackened his pale skin. Then just like that, it all stopped and he collapsed back onto the table with a whimper. His veins burrowed themselves back into his body and stopped glowing while the stream of blood coming from his eyes lessened to a trickle. The blackened skin faded back into the sun deprived paleness. The man grabbed his chin to make the boy face him and examined his work with a proud smile.

"It is done," he growled with a heavy accent. Tsunade shakily stood and shuffled her way to the table where the boy's spent body lay. Once again, her feet carried her there against her will. She laid a gentle hand against the boy's face and his eyes shot open. They were bloodshot and wild, but what really caught her off guard was the vivid explosion of green and yellow that looked back at her with slits cutting through them. Then, everything went dark once again, but she could still see those intense eyes staring up at her.

"Jeez, why's it so hot?" Naruto complained as the burning sand whipped against his skin. They trudged through the endless desert terrain with shared exhaustion due to the unnatural heat that burned throughout their bodies. "Why did you even make us come here anyways Ero-Sennin?" Naruto quipped in an irritated voice.

"Baka, if you were listening then you would know that Gaara-sama has offered to help us in our search!" Sakura answered with a smack to his blonde head. Out in the horizon they could barely make out the shape of towering mountains that surrounded the village's perimeters like a protective wall, enclosing the village from sight. Sakura looked back to the Sannin, "Errm, Jiraiya-Sama? How long do you think it will take to get to the village exactly?" she questioned with worry.

Jiraiya looked out to the mountains that slowly grew in sixe the more they walked and estimated the distance. "Well if we hurry we may be able to get there by nightfall, but if not…" he let the thought linger. Sakura gasped and started to push Naruto from the back.

"Oi, hurry up baka! If I have to sleep in this sandpit then I swear I'll murder you in your sleep!" she shouted in Naruto's ear. It took him all but one second to register the threat as he sprinted forward ahead of the others. Sakura smiled in satisfaction and followed his lead. Kiba hopped onto Akimaru's back and patted his side and he darted off like a bullet, leaving the others in the dust. Literally.

Jiraiya heard a sigh come from the lazy man next to him, "Jeez, don't these kids ever know when to stop?" he grumbled in a drained voice before running off, Yamato following close behind with the rest of the group with him, leaving Jiraiya alone. Jiraiya took one look down at his bright red sandals and frowned, "I really hate sand," he huffed to himself and took off.

Just as he had suspected, they arrived just as dusk had began to settle. They walked through the barren streets of Sunagakure with an eerie chill running through the sandy air. All that could be heard was the soft sound of sand sinking under their footsteps and even then it seemed to echo through the silent streets. They all knew where they were headed; it was hard not to find the giant Kage building that stood proud over the village, yet they seemed to hesitantly shuffle to the tower, walking noticeably slower.

Gaara was found sitting in his high backed chair, deep in thought once they finally made it to the tower. They filed into the room silently and lined up in front of the large oak desk in the center of the otherwise empty room. The young Kazekage slowly and deliberately stood to walk around and in front of the Sannin that led the group. With no trace of emotion whatsoever he carefully examined every silent ninja before letting his sleepless eyes fall onto Jiriaya.

"What is the situation with Hokage-sama?" he questioned in a low, resonating voice.

"It seems that Tsunade decided that it would be a good idea to go missing," Jiraiya explained in a casual tone, as if discussing the weather. "But none of us know where she ran off to, that's the problem."

"And you need Suna's assistance in retrieving her," he finished for him. Jiraiya paused in thought then nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah, that's the gist of it," he muttered. Gaara turned to look out into the lustrous moon.

"You have our help," he ensured. "Konoha has helped us many times, so we will do everything in our power to return the favor. Please wait near the front gates, I will meet you there with reinforcements in ten minutes."

Gaara arrived at the gate with only two, not to their surprise, other _reinforcements_, Kankuro and Temari. Sakura shuddered at the mannequin doll that once was the puppet master Sasori hanging limp on Kankuro's back, staring at her with those same lifeless eyes, but said nothing. The two shinobi walked up with conflicted looks, not knowing whether to smile in joy of seeing friends after so long, or to stay straight faced and business-like out of respect. They went with a strange mix of the two, resulting in two very awkward smiles.

"Naruto!" Temari and Kankuro exclaimed in unison, bringing a bright smile to the otherwise gloomy blonde's face. "Man, just keep growing huh?" Kankuro joked as he laid a hand on noticeably smaller boy's head. Temari instead spent her time constantly glancing back at Shikimaru with a coy smile playing at her lips. "So," Kankuro addressed to Gaara, "where are we looking first?"

Gaara averted his gaze first to Yamato, then to Kakashi, then finally to Jiriaya."Don't ask me," he said in his usual monotone voice. Jiraiya brought his eyebrows together in frustrated thought. Though they didn't want to admit it, they honestly didn't know where to look. It was like searching for a raindrop during a storm, and they didn't know which drop they were searching for.

"You are searching for someone dear, no?" a voice cracked with age spoke from the shadows of the night, startling everyone out of their thoughts. A decrepit old woman shuffled out into the light with a hunched back and a cloak to hide her face.

"Who are you beggar?" Gaara demanded in an authoritative voice. A maniacal cackle tore their calm as she drew closer with wobbly, limping steps.

"It is not who I am that matters, but who you are searching for," she breathed in an uneven voice.

"How do you know all this?" Temari shouted in a suspicious tone.

"I have seen things," she continued, ignoring Temari completely. "I have seen words written through the blood of the innocent, heard things spoken from the whisper of angels and demons alike, experienced things that you yourself would never even dream about. I have knowledge of things beyond this world!"

Naruto looked at Gaara uneasily, "I think this one's been staying in the sun for too long, if you know what I mean," he whispered into the Kazekage's ear. The old beggar shot him a dark, menacing glare that had him stumbling backwards in fear behind the protection of Lee.

"You are looking for a woman? And an important one at that since the Kazekage himself is helping!" she continued with a wild air around her. "A woman, ran away perhaps? No, missing, taken!"

"Where is she," Jiraiya demanded as he pushed his way to the small figure. He loomed over her, casting his shadow down and blocking her out of view from the rest. "Where is Tsunade?" he growled in an unnaturally cruel tone. His voice sounded so foreign to him, like he was watching the scene from somewhere else.

A smile filled with crooked and rotten teeth spread from cheek to cheek on her wrinkled face. "Princess Tsunade? That is the woman that you are searching for? I have heard many rumors, oh yes, many rumors from below, but can't really say if any of them are true, you can never tell with those lying thieves," she ranted in a hushed voice, as if she was talking low for someone not to hear. She stopped suddenly and pushed the cloak off her face to gawk at the Sannin, who was breathing heavily with both anxiety and slight anger. Her distant eyes flicked wildly from one ninja to the other in terror. "You," she seethed and pointed a crooked finger at Kanosuke. She slowly crept her way towards him with squinting eyes. Once she was almost close enough for him to smell her foul stench, she shrieked in a shrill voice and nearly fell over.

"Devil!" she hissed with bared teeth. Kanosuke raised his hands in defense and looked at her with wide eyes.

"Whoa lady!" he yelled in surprise. "Devil? Me? I think you've got the wrong person!"

"Unholy, savage, freak! Go back from whence you came!" she spouted with a looked of unmatched rage. Every person there had the same confused look locked on the scene in front of them. "You drink from the blood of the unborn and burn the innocent with the black flames of satanic power!"

Kanosuke cocked his head to the side to give her an intrigued look. "Black flames? What, like the sharingan?" he questioned the snarling woman.

She turned back to Jiraiya and Gaara, "You keep that _thing _away from the princess, 'less you want another dead!" she barked, spittle flying everywhere. They nodded warily and slowly made their way around the crouched woman. As they walked were walking out the gate they could still hear her delirious cackle. "Ignore my warnings and you'll be sure to regret it once the time comes!" she continued to scream despite them being out of sight.

They silently walked into the open desert with even more confusion than when they entered, if that was even possible. Sakura turned to stare at Kanosuke, who was walking with a distant gaze. "So…" she drawled to break the awkward silence.

"Please don't," he pleaded in a monotone voice, "I don't know what the hell she was talking about or why but for my sanity, it never happened." Sakura responded with a weak nod but was too shocked to retort with a snappy reply.

Naruto could feel his temper rising just from hearing the boy's smooth voice. He had no doubt that if he even looked at him his blood would begin to boil and he couldn't promise that he would control himself, or even want to for that matter. When he glanced at the much taller boy from the corner of his eye, he couldn't take it anymore. "Ugh, who are you! Why are you even in the middle of this! I've never even seen your face before but now all of a sudden you're related to Tsunade-no bachaan's disappearance?" he yelled as he stomped up to the boy until he was inches away from his face with his fists clenched tightly at his side. "I don't buy it," he snarled just loud enough for Kanosuke to hear.

Kanosuke's face remained as smooth as marble and just as cold too. "Then you don't have to," he replied coolly. "Just forget that I'm here, not that you'll have a problem with that since you act as though you're the hero that's going to be her big savior anyways," he said as he brushed past the glaring blonde, who remained still. "Just stay out of my way. A kid like you will just be a hassle to watch over when it comes down to the big boy's fight," he added as he continued to walk ahead to join the group once more. Naruto bit his lip until the taste of metal filled his mouth but swallowed his pride and remained quiet as he strode back.

Tsunade felt something cold pressed against her wrists and ankles, something heavy that weighed down her already weak arms. She attempted to move her legs but could barely scrape the shackles across the dusty floor due to their weight. Everything around her felt cold and musty and it probably was with how her luck was going lately. There was a single warm light that flooded the room from the far wall and it was the only thing that she could truly make out of the otherwise dark room. There was an incessant dripping noise that echoed off the stone walls and seemed to be magnified in the dead air. Where was she this time? Another sick dream perhaps?

She lazily rolled her heavy head to the side in a weak attempt to find any source of light from the outside, even if she was almost positive she'd never see the light of day again, it was worth the shot. The minute she opened her eyes, she wished she'd stayed asleep instead.

"Have a good nap Hime?" the masked man lulled in a deep voice. She tried to scream but all that came out was feeble moan. She slumped forward in an effort to move away but instead fell so that her cheek was pressed against the damp floor. "There's no point in trying to move. You of all people should know the effects of numbing powders," he stated as he crouched down in front of her to lift her chin so she would face him. She knew all too well what happened when you mixed numbing powders with a number of other paralyzing drugs and injected it into the bloodstream. She estimated that the next time she would be able to stand would be in about forever and a half.

"Is something the matter Hime?" he taunted in a mocking tone. She could just feel the sick grin that he was giving her from under that damn mask of his. "Not that it matters. Sooner or later you _will _help me to attain what I want, which is of course power beyond any that this world has seen. You will all too willingly give it to me after what I put you through, just you wait Tsunade. I have something special in store for you."

He dropped her chin with a harsh chuckle and gave her one last look from over his shoulder before putting out the candle with a pinch of his fingers. "Sleep tight, Hime," he said as he pulled open what sounded like a heavy metal door at the far wall before slamming it shut behind him and cranking the lock. She lay there, hopelessly praying for Jiraiya to come wake her from this nightmare. Everything was happening to fast for her to comprehend and she felt lost in the tides of reality that threatened to sweep her up into the ocean were even her toad prince couldn't swim out and save her. The way that Madara called her Hime made her want to vomit. He sounded as if he owned her, as if she was his little pet to experiment on. Though she feared that she might already be his experiment from the way he completely controls her.

Tears began to slowly stream down her face in frustration, terror, anxiety. None of them made her feel good about her current predicament. But even in her darkest most desperate hours, there's always that shimmer of hope, that ray of light that will lead you out of any sticky situation.

And she had just found hers.

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Wooh, and we are finished! So, super duper lame or super duper awesome? Please tell me in the review section. I felt kind of weird writing it because I wrote the first half or so like a whole month ago so I had no idea what I was writing at the time. Oh well. Thank you so very much for putting up with my procrastinating and I hope you enjoied it =]


	9. Chapter 9: Dreaming

Okay, so I was watching Jiraiya's *sniffle* fight with Pain and I have to admit I still cry whenever I see it. I think the last time I saw it was a year ago and I remember not even being able to watch the opening because I'd start crying. _Sigh_, I'm so pathetic aren't I? Also, Itachi died right after the Pain fight, just so y'know.

Ty Ty does not own Naruto no matter how much she wishes she did so she could kill Pain in brutal and unusual ways… yea…

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_**Where… Where am I? Is this a dream... or a memory… who am I… what am I doing here with these people…**_

_**What have I done?**_

_The boy spun in circles, looking for a way out but each time he was confronted with an endless white wall. Everywhere around him there was nothing but cold, blank marble walls. He was surrounded. He was trapped. He was a prisoner._

_He sank to the floor in defeat and stared up at the nothingness before him. __**What do you want from me? I don't even know who I am yet you ask so much of me. **__He didn't know who he was talking to, perhaps it was just anyone who would listen, and maybe there was no one who would listen. It didn't matter._

_**Why are you keeping yourself prisoner? **__A voice boomed in his mind. He slowly closed his eyes and shook his head._

_**Sheesh, now I'm hearing voices. Am I seriously going crazy?**__ He ran his hands over his face before opening his eyes to find that his white walled prison was no longer there. He found himself staring at a cloaked man protecting a small baby from the onslaught of rain and hail that pounded onto the pavement. The man looked over his shoulder anxiously, like he was searching for someone._

_**He is running**__, the voice narrated inside his head in an amused tone. The man stopped to look around him, searching for a place to hide. He spotted a small abandoned building behind a mountain of rubble and sprinted towards it in a mad dash. No sooner did he slam the door shut when a group of men in strange clothing came running down the path to stop at the fork in the road with looks of both rage and terror. "Where did they go?" one of them screamed over the roaring sound of rain against stone. One of them slammed their fists against the floor in anger and paced in circles._

"_We can't just sit here and do nothing! We have to continue searching or else…" he trailed off and shuddered. "Split up! Search everywhere and don't even think about running off!" they all dispersed and the cloaked man peeked his head out the door to make sure the coast was clear.__**Who are they searching for?**__ The boy asked in his thoughts, because apparently that worked when you talked to your crazy voice._

_**It's expected of you not to know. You will find out soon enough, **__the voice responded, sounding extremely bored. He continued to watch the scene with an intrigued eye but nothing seemed to come to mind when it came to the man. Was he supposed to know who it was? Somehow he felt like he should know, because everything felt so familiar around him yet whenever he reached for even the slightest memory it seemed to slip farther and farther away from his grasp. Flashes and feelings of the memory would begin to fade into a vision but would no sooner vanish, leaving him with nothing but the empty feeling that it left behind._

_The man caught his attention once again as he tentatively walked out into the open, holding his precious package close to his body and away from the relentless rain. He started to slowly creep up the road to keep from being spotted but just as he reached the end the sound of metal slicing through air passed swiftly overhead._

_It hit its target dead on._

_The man crumpled to the floor in agony and let out a bloodcurdling scream. He took a quick look down at the wailing baby and let out a small sigh of relief that he wasn't hurt, but it wasn't over yet. With the determination that could only be seen with a man on a mission he struggled to a stand and continued stumbling forward in a futile attempt to escape. The pursuers were on him faster than the lightning that was now cutting through the rain like angry bolts of hatred. The boy watching didn't know whether he was seeing the man crying or if it was just due to the rain but as the pursuers started to close in he could see the man rocking back and forth, holding the baby's head and whispering words of comfort to lull it to sleep. They grabbed his hood and pulled it back to roughly grip his hair and pull his head back to leave his throat bare. The boy was watching the scene up close in confused horror as the last words left the man's lips before his life was taken away and his blood dirtied the clear rain._

_**Be strong Kanomaru and remember that I will always look out for you because I love you, my son.**_

Kanosuke woke up gasping for air with a cold sweat running throughout his body. He abruptly sat up and held his face in his hands. His heart was beating at a mile a minute and it felt like at any time it would pound out of his chest. He felt water running down his hands arms and pulled away to gingerly touch his cheeks. He was crying.

Outside he could hear the patter of rain fall against the wooden structure and he felt his heart throb as he replayed the sickening murder that has occurred just minutes ago in his head. _Was_ it_ really a dream though?_ He asked himself countless times but couldn't come up with an answer._That man… he called the baby Kanomaru… why is the name so close to mine?_

He looked around for the clock and found that it was still one o'clock in the morning, but he was way too wired to go back to sleep. He grabbed his blanket and crawled over the strewn bodies to silently slide the door open and walk out to sit and watch the rain. He wrapped his blanket around him and pulled his legs into his chest to rest his chin on his knees. Dozens of questions flew through his mind but only one stood above the rest. _Was that all real? _How was he supposed to tell if it was just a bad nightmare or an actual vision? Only one thing kept him from dismissing it as just a plain nightmare.

The voice that was speaking to him, it was almost as if it was trying to show him something. Although he didn't want to believe it, that voice could have been the reason for the whole dream, making it more than just a dream. Also, the place that they were at felt so familiar yet so foreign at the same time. He buried his head in his arms in frustration, not knowing what to think of the nightmare.

"Feeling distressed?"

Kanosuke jumped from the shock and nearly slipped off the porch and into the mud below. He looked back to find a familiar smirk being shot at him. It's no wonder he didn't sense him creep up from behind. Jiraiya was leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed and an amused glint in his dark eyes. "How long have you been there?" Kanosuke asked bitterly.

"Eh, long enough," he answered with a shrug and sat next to the boy. "You woke me up, what with all the grumbling and moaning you were making. You weren't having a, y'know… one of **those** dreams right?" he asked warily. Kanosuke gave him a confused look in return. Jiraiya sighed, "Well, you're around sixteen or so right? When a boy turns a certain age he starts to get these feelings, and believe me I would know, but-"

"Oh god no!" Kanosuke yelped in horror upon realizing what he was talking about. He looked at him with wide eyes and gripped his head from both sides. "Why would you even say that? That's so-so-so UGH!"

Jiraiya let out a relieved sigh and brushed his bangs out of his eyes. "Oh thank god. Having to tell it once is hard enough, especially with a blockhead like Naruto," he grumbled and frowned at the memory.

Kanosuke was rocking back and forth with his head in his lap. "Just- just stop. Stop talking." He looked up at the man a traumatized look. "Please don't tell me you were going to give me a sex talk, _you _of all people."

"Oi, what's wrong with me saying it?" he asked angrily and glared at the boy. Kanosuke raised an eyebrow in genuine surprise.

"You, of all people, telling a kid about the dangers of sex? That's so ironic it's not even funny. Besides," he grumbled under his breath," I'm pretty sure you have more STDs than I can count."

Jiraiya grabbed his shirt and brought his face inches away from his own with an outraged expression. "What'd you say kid?" he growled furiously.

"I said that you have amazing writing skills!" he yelped in surprise. Jiraiya let go with a _hmph _resulting in Kanosuke scampering away as far away as he could and then some. He huddled into the corner with his blanket pulled up to his eyes, which Jiraiya couldn't help but chuckle at. After a while the rain started to fall harder and Kanosuke returned to his previous spot, deciding that he wasn't going to get killed just yet.

"So what _was _all that mumbling about earlier?" Jiraiya asked as he stared off into the rainy landscape with the weirdest sense of déjà vu. Kanosuke lowered his head in contemplation. The heavy, muggy air pressed down on him as he replayed the event in his head one last time before lifting his head to rest it sideways on his arms as he brought his knees tight into his chest. Jiraiya watched him patiently, being used to waiting for someone to open up after knowing Tsunade for so long and sitting with her for so many nights to hear her out. Kanosuke closed his eyes slowly to listen to the calming sound of rain pattering against the floor. It only made his memory that much more vivid.

"I'm not sure if you can really call it a dream," he started cautiously. Jiraiya cocked his eyebrow up but remained silent so he could continue. Kanosuke unfolded his arm to stick it out and allow the rain to drip down from his fingertips as it rolled off his hand. "There was a voice, one that I couldn't recognize, it spoke to me within my head…" he shook his head, pulled his arm back to his side and looked away. "Never mind, I probably sound even more like a lunatic than before," he said with a snort.

Jiraiya rested on his elbows to stare out into the muddy field. "I've heard stranger, it's nothing to be ashamed of," he said with a light chuckle. Kanosuke gave him a sideways look, which was ignored, before curling back up into himself.

"I guess," he whispered hesitantly. After a pause to gather his thoughts he continued, "It was raining like it is now but I'm not sure where we were standing, it didn't look like any place that I've seen before. There was a man, he was running from these people dressed in strange clothing, and he was holding a baby. He looked like he was escaping from somewhere or something like that. I thought he was going to get away but just as he thought the coast was clear…" he didn't know if he really wanted to finish the thought. Jiraiya noticed his hesitance and gave him an encouraging nudge. Kanosuke bit his lip and casted his gaze to his toes before letting out a long sigh. "They killed him. Simple as that. He didn't even try to fight back. But that's not what made the dream so disturbing, it was what he said before he was murdered. 'I will always love you Kanomaru, my son.'"

A long and heavy paused hovered in the air. Jiraiya felt like he should have said something, but nothing really came to mind, partly due to the fact that he was only half awake and only barely managing to keep his eyes open. Kanosuke was expecting some wise and thoughtful lecture but instead found himself staring at the sannin with an impatient glare. Jiraiya shook his wild mane and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Well, wasn't expecting that," he said with a weak laugh. "Kanomaru, huh," he said slowly, like he was trying the name out for the first time, which he was actually. "Sounds like someone I know," he added sarcastically. Kanosuke couldn't help his eyes from rolling into the back of his head. "But!" he exclaimed loud enough to make the boy jump, "It doesn't really matter what I think, does it? The real question here is what does it mean to _you?_" Without another word he stretched to a stand and silently crept back into the room to fall back into blissful sleep.

Kanosuke just sat there, watching the fat rain drops fall heavily onto the ground in front of him with a _plop_. Jiraiya's words rang clear in his ears and he pondered the meaning of the dream, assuming that it even had a meaning, that is. "What's this all supposed to mean," he mused quietly to himself. And to think that he told Jiraiya in hopes of finding a clear explanation to all this, instead the toad sage just made things worse. And even though it troubled him to do so, he tried his best to push the dream/memory deep into the most enigmatic part of his brain and away from sight. All that mattered now was the mission at hand; he wasn't going to let something as simple as a not so simple dream obscure his vision to the final destination.

"Hehe, looks like your little pet is starting to wiggle its way out of the cage," the blue man said in amusement.

"**Shut up, I have everything under control**," the dark half snapped crossly.

"You do? Since when?" his ivory counterpart replied dubiously. The fish-like man chuckled at their antics and hoisted his giant sword back onto his shoulder with a grunt.

"Oh yeah, looks like you have all this completely under control, especially since you not only managed to lose your little project but _also _get brainwashed by that creeper Danzo. I'm just surprised that you've managed to keep it under wraps." The tall man stopped and turned to give the split man a crooked grin, revealing his deadly sharp teeth in the process. "You did keep him a secret, right?"

The ivory half gave him a guilty grin, "Well that depends, what's your definition of _secret_?" he inquired like a little child that got caught breaking a vase. His counterpart once again let a distorted growl escape from deep within him as he slammed his hand over the mouth of the giggling half next to him.

"**I know what I'm doing, I don't need some freak overgrown guppy looking after me," **he said in a muffled snarl. A sickening grin spread across Kisame's face but nothing was said back. **"Now don't you have to go back to being Madara's pet, or did you fail at that job too?"**

Kisame grunted but otherwise stayed silent and casually crossed the room to exit. He glanced back over his shoulder as he walked into the pitch black cave's open meeting room and planted his feet in front of the colossal statue that sat motionless on the far wall. He stared up into its many eyes and felt the faintest sense of sadness momentarily dwell in his soulless heart. He was awfully bored with his partner Itachi gone, but there was no way he would let it show. He knew he shouldn't have made any connections with any if the other members but it was hard to not become tolerant of people that you spend every waking second of your time with. The cave felt almost desolate with so many members gone and he found himself sulking around all day with nothing to do but pet his sword, who also seemed to find it lonely with the loss of Itachi. But it wasn't only Itachi that he found himself missing, Deidara also made thing interesting in the hole that the called headquarters.

"Pondering something Kisame?" he heard a voice say from the shadows. Madara strode in next to him and absentmindedly stared at the statue also. Kisame was surprised to feel something close to resentment start to boil somewhere deep in his chest. The thoughts of all the years he's wasted all the energy he's put into an organization and for what? Just so that he could find refuge from the Kages? He tried his best to push the thoughts to the side.

"How's our little princess doing?" he wondered out loud to distract himself. The chuckle that he got in response was nothing less than disturbing.

"She's surviving, more or less," he said nonchalantly. With a slight tilt of his head he stared at Kisame through the single eye hole that adorned the right side of his bright orange mask. "I have a favor to ask of you Kisame," he said coaxingly. Kisame's eyebrows knit together curiously. "Our little _hero _Naruto sure is taking his time, isn't he? That's where you come in. I'd like you to help our precious cargo get to the destination before I start getting impatient. Just give them a little visit to… help them along the way. No need to get frisky though, it wouldn't be good to lose yet_another _member, especially one as helpful as you." With a sharp turn on his heel the masked man strode to the exit with his hands crossed in front of his chest but stopped short to turn back to the grimacing blue man. "Oh, and just a warning, Hatake Kakashi and Tsunade's Sannin friend are sure to be with the group, that is for certain. But others I'm not sure about, they could have the whole Konoha village behind them for all I know. But nonetheless, don't get cocky."

Kisame watched the man disappear into the darkness beyond and grit his teeth angrily. _Yeah, just walk away and pretend like you actually care about what happens,_ he thought to himself as he jammed his massive sword into the earthy soil below him. The unnatural breeze that flowed through the base rushed against his face, only slightly calming his rising temper. He had never met someone who agitated him so much just by standing next to him until he met his "leader." There was just an aura around him that oozed with superiority, like he thought he was above everyone else and only saw people as pawns willing to fight the wars as he sits back on his throne sipping his warmed sake. Little did he know that someday, when the pawns are all used up, the castles are all taken down, the bishops are all dead and gone, the knights are no longer loyal, and not even the queen is waiting for his return that is when the king has to do all the wars himself. And while he remains safe behind the empty walls of the castle, he stays oblivious to what happens in the battlefields outside.

Madara swiftly made his way through the dark corridors of the cave to stop in front of a door with a crudely carved star adorning its wooden frame. He quietly nudged the door open and crept inside with the unnatural silence that only a shinobi could attain. The only thing that could be seen was the faint, dim glow of a far away candle that was slowly burning itself out. It lit what little part of the room it could, the only part that he cared about, the corner that his prisoner lie limp and weak with nothing but fading hope. He slowly and deliberately inched his way to the crumpled body. He knelt down just a foot away an examined the Hokage curiously, nudging her with his knuckle every now and then to make sure she was still alive at least. He brushed her pale yellow locks away from her face to look into her droopy and far off amber eyes. She probably didn't even see him there; her eyes looked like they were seeing something else entirely, like she was looking beyond him.

He cocked his head to the side and dropped to his knee so he could slide closer to her cold body. He slipped his hand into his robe and pulled out a loaf of warm, fresh bread that was as soft as a pillow and broke it into two pieces. He lifted her chin gently and let the crumbling bread sit right in front of her parted lips to allow the fresh smell to waft beneath her nose. "Come on Tsunade, don't go dieing on me just yet, your time will come later," he whispered quietly to himself. And as if his words somehow reached somewhere far into her subconscious, she fluttered her eyelids open and moaned in ecstasy from the moist smell of fluffy bread, the smell of food, something that she thought she'd never see or smell again. She wearily and weakly lifted herself ever so slightly to take a small bite out of the crunchy loaf. "That's it, be grateful that I care enough to bring a prisoner like you food. Most don't even get water, but I suppose it's only appropriate that you get the_ princess_ treatment," he said with a hidden smirk. Tsunade snatched the bread from his gloved hands greedily and ate it in big, desperate bites. Madara stood and chuckled to himself, "I see. Being in confinement for so long has forced you to go back to your animalistic instincts… interesting."

Before leaving he tossed the second half of bread on the floor and watched as Tsunade scrambled after it frantically. He left that day with a smug grin clear behind his bright orange mask. Tsunade's breathing was heavy and abnormal after he left and once again she felt warm wetness glide down her dirt-smeared cheeks. She felt no emotion, no sadness or pain or even hopelessness, not anymore. She felt nothing, like and empty shell just waiting to be picked up and taken home. She tried her best to contact Jiraiya, but she knew that the chance of him actually getting the signal was one in a million. She tried her best to summon Katsuya, and she did barely manage it, but she's sure that with her low chakra and stamina her slug summon was unable to go far. Hell, it was even a surprise to her that she was able to make it out the door without getting noticed, even with her small size.

She flipped onto her side and stared into the flickering flames with empty eyes. She didn't know which she feared most, the thought of Jiraiya and possible Naruto chasing not chasing after her, or the thought of them actually finding her, especially Naruto. She was sure that Jiraiya had gone running after her, alone or not, but a small part of her prayed that he never found her and just continued his job in training Naruto. She didn't want him to try to fight Madara and eventually get killed because of her. He may be a wonderful and talented shinobi, but Madara wasn't human. She decided that she would rather rot and die in a cave rather than allow someone like Madara control the whole world. Her tears came down more rapidly than before but still she felt nothing, only the warming sensation that they left behind where they landed on her protruding bust. With a shaky sigh she closed her eyes and tried to reach out to Jiraiya, wherever he may be. Normally she would feel stupid about doing something like this, but she was beyond trying to keep and image. All she was trying to do was survive. She concentrated and tried her hardest to send her thoughts and presence out beyond the walls of her prison.

_Jiraiya, wherever you are, just in case I never see your stupid grin again, know that I always kind of liked it when you called me Hime, or when you would stare at my boobs like a perv, or even whenever you asked me to dance with you or eat dinner with you. Even though I beat you up for it, it felt great to know that there was someone out there that adored me as much as you, and saw me for something besides a fun night out. I'm grateful to have known someone as great as you for nearly all my life and am always proud to call you my dearest friend. But more importantly, know that I always have and always will, no matter what happens when this is all over, whether I end up dead or not, I love you._

Jiraiya woke up shivering and felt like there was something buried deep in his chest, something heavy. He could have sworn he heard someone whispering his name, someone familiar though he couldn't say who. He knew it was a woman though, a woman with a voice that rang in his head as he leaned back against the wooden wall and rubbed his eyes sleepily to try and clear his head. It was raining pretty hard, he noticed as he looked out the window. But it seemed like someone was missing from their bed, maybe that's what he heard when he woke up. He looked around to examine the sleeping faces around him and found that the one missing was Kanosuke. With a grunt he stood up and stealthily stepped over all the snoring bodies and wasn't surprised to find the "missing" boy sitting outside with a blanket wrapped around him. He smiled bitterly and once again prepared himself for a long and probably depressing talk, not that he wasn't used to it after so long. Once he was ready, he let a smirk grace his face.

"Feeling distressed?"

Kisame gracefully dove into the water and let it rush around him as he swam deeper and deeper, taking more of a shark's form as he did so. Feeling the water glide against his skin, feeling like he was flying, it instantly calmed his busy and restless mind. He closed his eyes and let his other senses navigate him to his destination. Being in this form made it easier for him to sense chakra, and it was a cakewalk finding Naruto's massive chakra signal, that combined with Jiraiya's and Kakashi's made finding them depressingly easy for him. It seemed to him that animals are more sensitive to chakra waves than shinobi, making their chakra as evident as a brick wall right in front of his face.

As he swam through the deep blue ocean, he thought about what he would actually do once he caught up with the group of shinobi. There was no doubt in his mind that they'd attack him, which could actually be dangerous considering the difference in numbers and strength, but what really stumped him was how he would convince them that he wasn't there to kill them. He may have been reckless, cocky even, but he knew that attacking a group of shinobi like that was simply suicide. He remembered how Itachi had acted when they were confronted by the sannin that he was now chasing after, how he didn't even attempt to put up a fight even though it was two to one. It made him wonder just what the man was made of, seeing as how even Itachi refused to fight him with. Not to mention being able to not only survive a fight with Pain, but actually being able to take some of them out on the way was amazing, if not extraordinary. To make it even worse, he didn't even know the secret of Pain. It made him anxious just thinking about it.

_Jeez, how off track can you get?_ He thought irritably as he gauged the considerable distance between him and the group. _It'll take me __**at least**__ a whole day to catch up to them, assuming they don't go speeding off that is. I swear, if Madara gets impatient and takes it out on me…_

For the sake of his sanity, he let the thought go. _Happy thoughts, happy thoughts,_ he kept repeating in his head like a chant. Once again he let his eyes slide shut and simply let the power of his muscled coupled with the strong pull of the waves shoot him through the water like a bullet. A razor sharp toothy smile split his elongated face as a thought dawned on him, something that he _consider_ thinking about until now. With a new revitalized energy he sped through the water at an almost dangerous rate. _Time to shake things up around here. A little meddling never hurt anyone before, right?_

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Please review and thanks so much for reading! Next chapter is going to be double digits and I couldn't have made it without your guys' support! Ciao! =]


	10. Chapter 10: Knight in Shining Armor

**Hello all. As you may have noticed, I've been missing for quite some time now and as a result you have been deprived of some good ol' JiraTsu. I dunno, I just kind of lost the passion to write for some time but after reading more JiraTsu fics than humanly possible, I've been inspired to continue! I hope this will satisfy.**

**I plan on making this one more action packed than usual so wear protective gear when reading. Also, there's going to be some skipping around here, so don't get confused. It'll jump from present to past to future a bunch during the fighting. Also, even though it pains me to say it, we're just going to have to assume that Killer Bee was taken and extracted of his tailed beast, therefore killing him. Or, you can say he did a Gaara and still lives, just without the beast! Either way, Madara has up to eight beasts right now. I won't keep you waiting any longer, so hobey ho, let's go!**

**Don't own Naruto blah blah blah**

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"Don't take another step! I swear I'll slice you up into little pieces and have you with some ramen if you do!" Kisame rolled his eyes impatiently._ Of course they go for the fish jokes,_ he thought resentfully as he raised his hands above his head and let his sword plunge into the soil. Naruto grabbed the handle and hastily dragged it back with him while keeping his ocean blue orbs glued on the smug looking man. Kisame scanned the group and was actually impressed with the sheer size of it, seeing as how they somehow managed to stay somewhat under the radar this whole time. His grin widened as his eyes landed on Kakashi, who was standing protectively in front of Naruto and next to Jiraiya.

"Kakashi, long time no see. I never got to fight you like I wanted to that last time we met." He lolled his head to the side and lazily shifted his gaze to Jiraiya. "The same goes to you, Jiraiya-sama. I'm just glad that bastard in the tacky green jumpsuit isn't here," he added gratefully and lowered his arms back to his side so he could cross them loosely behind his back. Jiraiya walked up to him with an unreadable expression and stopped just a yard away from him.

"Why are you here? You know you can't stand a chance, and probably knew that long before you actually showed up, yet you still made yourself clear to us. Why?" Jiraiya spoke to him in a monotone voice and kept the blank expression on his face.

Kisame let his smile drop, "Madara sent me, but don't jump to the conclusion that I'm here to take your little pet fox, I'm here to help you actually, as hard as that may be for you to believe. See, I'm starting to get sick of that coward of a leader; even Pain was more fun to be around than him! And that's saying something." He stopped to watch Jiraiya tense ever so slightly, something that was noticeable to only him. "And besides, if he gets what he wants then you guys aren't going to be the only one who gets screwed. You think he's going to give us special treatment just because we work for him? The second he shoots his eyes onto the moon I'll be as much of a puppet as you will, so it's a lose-lose situation. Now, are you guys going to hear me out or not?"

The group fell silent. Jiraiya's eyebrows knit together in contemplation and a small frown formed on his face. Kisame shifted his weight to one leg and rested his hand on his hip impatiently. He was tapping his foot rapidly when Jiraiya finally spoke. "Fine, we'll hear you out, but only if you start by telling us if Tsunade is okay or not," he spoke with a new found determination, something that he got from having a new lead.

Kisame was thrown off by the request, since he nearly forgot all about the woman that was being held in their headquarters. "Well that depends on how you describe _okay_. She's alive, that much is for certain, but I can't tell you what kind of shape she's in. There's no need to worry about her dying, because Madara needs her for something, something that he won't even tell me." Despite hearing that Tsunade was okay, Jiraiya was sure that he was even more worried than before. Knowing that Madara would keep her alive sent a chill down his spine. The words "fate worse than death" burned behind his eyelids. Kisame noticed the tension in the air and realized that they had probably been searching desperately for her, and hearing that she was okay and under Madara's control left them paralyzed. It's as if they just heard the truth that they were all hoping was nothing more than a nightmare. Kisame didn't blame them, he would have felt the same way if someone close to him was taken prisoner by someone like Madara, assuming that he _had _someone close to him that is.

"Don't go after her," Kisame stated sternly. Jiraiya reeled back in surprise and looked at him incredulously.

"What? Are you crazy? There's no way we're gonna' just let-"

"Listen to me," he interrupted," you don't know what you're going up against. Madara _wants _you to go after her, that way he can have the Kyubi in his grasp. He knew that your hokage was not only essential to whatever his plan is, but also a great leverage to get the nine-tails. He knew that she was close to many of the shinobi, one of them being Naruto. If you know what's good for you, turn back now and forget about her, get a new Hokage, erase her from your memories and pray that she died in her sleep."

Something in Jiraiya snapped, and he lunged forward to tackle Kisame to the ground. He twisted the man so that his face was squished to the dirt and his arms were tied behind his back. It all happened too fast for anyone to register it and before they knew it Jiraiya was burying his face deeper and deeper into the floor. "Don't say that, don't say that Tsunade's going to die, and don't tell me to forget about her!" His voice cracked as he yelled into Kisame's ear and he was shaking uncontrollably in rage. Kisame was breathing hard from the impact and his eyes were wide._When did he tackle me? I didn't even see him budge… is this what Itachi was talking about?_ Kisame tried his best to get a glance at the Sannin that was digging his knee into his back but all he could see was the mane of white hair that brushed against the side off his face and tickled his cheek. Everyone watched him worriedly, but didn't think it best to intervene.

Jiraiya struggled to control his temper, something that he was so unfamiliar with, but it was like something that Kisame said set a bomb off inside of him and pushed him over the edge of his already unstable reality. He lowered himself until he was right next to Kisame's ear and in a low growl said, "I don't care if I have to go at it alone, I'm never going to give up on rescuing Tsunade. Madara can send all that he can at me but nothing will stop me, not his _mighty sharingan_, not even the holy _rinnengan, _absolutely _nothing_ will stop me." His breath was hot and heavy as it blew in Kisame's face. After he saw that he got the message across, he reluctantly and not so gently pulled Kisame up to a stand and even though the cloaked man stood a good three or four inches above him, he felt like he could crush him at any time.

Kisame was panting heavily as he brushed the dust off of his cloak. He nodded his head and grinned at the man that he now saw in a new light. Without saying a word he slipped his arms out of his cloak and pulled it off of him. He held it firmly out in front of him, "I'm not going to fight you, no matter how much I want to, but I won't help either. If you," he waved his arm to gesture to everyone, "can't take down Madara, than no one can, so there's no point in sticking around. Our headquarters are located in a cave just outside of the Hidden Rock Village, somewhere that's off the maps. It's right between the border of Rock and Ishigakure. He chose the only land that was unclaimed by a nation." He frowned and decided to hastily draw a map on the paper that held his orders in his pocket. Once he was done he handed it to Jiraiya, "I'm putting my faith in you so that one day, after you win this war, I can fight you. Especially you, Naruto," he dropped his crooked grin to look straight into the teen's eyes with his own beady ones. "You're gonna grow to be something else, I can already tell." He paused in thought and shook his head disapprovingly. "Just remember who you're messing with. When there is blood in the water, the sharks will come." And with that, he dropped the cloak to the dusty road and turned to walk off.

They all stared at the scarred blue back that was just starting to gradually disappear into the sun's glare when a certain blonde went dashing after the man with a yell. "Oi! Hold on!" he shouted as he caught up with the man. Kisame stopped in his tracks and turned around curiously to find the boy looking up at him with a determined glare. "You better keep your word. After I rescue Tsunade no baachan, I'm gonna be expecting you, so don't you dare wimp out."

Kisame chuckled darkly before ruffling his golden locks, "You got it kid, just make sure you actually make it out alive, then we'll go from there," and once again he turned away, but for the last time. Naruto did the same and ran back to the group with a bright smile.

"Let's go rescue Tsunade no baachan so we can give her hell, ya?" he piped optimistically to try and dispel the heavy tension that was still in the air. Kakashi chuckled and patted his head as he walked past.

"Well, shall we get started?" the silver haired man inquired.

He could fell his heart pounding against his ribcage like someone was trying to hammer their way out of his chest, but he refused to show it. Adrenaline was spiking through his system, coming in wave after wave, and he at times found himself shivering just from sheer anticipation. There they were, hidden in a crevice deep within the cave that held the woman that he unconditionally loved for as long as he could remember. They were waiting, preparing for moment that would change the shinobi world without anyone else knowing about it but them. They were about to either prevent or cause another war depending on how things played out at the end of the day, and he was leading it.

_What have you gotten yourself into now Jiraiya?_ He kept thinking as he glanced around the cave to look out for the signal. They had successfully infiltrated it, but that was just the beginning, the easiest part of the mission. Now all they had to do was, y'know, take down only the most notorious man in shinobi history. Jiraiya swallowed hard and glanced back and forth with keen eyes, searching for the faintest of lights that would set off the ambush. Five minutes, ten minutes, thirty minutes, what was taking him so long?

His question was answered by the sound of a strained scream, a hoarse scream that could only belong to one boy. "Naruto," he muttered in horror. Without a second's hesitation, he shot forward with unnatural speed out of his hiding place and into the vast openness that was filled with nothing but pitch black darkness. He heard the sound of shuffling feet behind him and could only guess that it was the rest of the group rushing to save the blonde boy from further harm. He had no idea where he was going, and had no way of seeing anything farther than ten feet in front of him, but kept sprinting full on towards what he could only hope was the source of the scream. Every step forward he took only seemed to bring him three steps backwards, and he suddenly felt very lost and vulnerable in the never ending darkness. Bodies were surrounding him, he was certain of that much, but couldn't discern who it was. No one dared speak in fear of giving away their location, because even if they weren't being as stealthy as they should they still wanted to remain hidden for the most part.

Without warning, they found themselves face to face with what they were looking for. Multiple gasps were heard in the dim light and they all skid to an abrupt stop. Jiraiya felt his blood run cold and every muscle in his body stiffened involuntarily. Looming in front of them was none other than Madara, who seemed especially intimidating as only half his figure was visible with the other half seemingly being _swallowed by the shadows. He held Naruto a good two feet in the air by the collar of his bright orange_ and black jacket. Desperate blue orbs meet with pleading obsidian ones, and without saying a word, they both understood what had to be done.

"Jiraiya-sama," a deep, demanding voice boomed through the tension. "I never expected a man of your stature to be led into such an obvious trap. Kisame seemed to have played his part in all of this, despite his change in loyalty." Jiraiya's throat was bone dry, too dry for him to make a retort. His brain couldn't even function properly, it all seemed too surreal to be true. "And now," he continued," I've got the Kyubi right where I want him."

He only glanced at the writhing boy for a second before mercilessly snapping his wrist back, sending the boy flying through the air. His limp body was barely visible as it lay on the floor of the dimly lit cave, but through the shadows they managed to make out a tall figure, slim, with spiky orange hair and multiple piercings as it knelt down and dragged the body up over his shoulder. It clicked instantly in Jiraiya's mind just who it was, but the others were left clueless.

_What's going on? Why is all this happening so fast? _Kanosuke could barely make out what was happening as he stood helplessly at the back of the group. Nothing was going as planned, nothing was going right. The booming voice that came from the masked man was just a buzzing in his ears. He could hear whispers, indistinct words being softly muttered from deep inside the cave. They sounded familiar, like a noise he'd known all his life. He felt strange, like he was watching the scene from above, like he was there without really being there. But despite all the strangeness, it felt_ right._

With a sudden jerk, he felt himself fall to the floor. Everything went white behind his eye lids and no sound came from his mouth no matter how loud he screamed. His hands shot to his head in an attempt to stop the pounding, the screaming that the whispers had become. He shook uncontrollably, crawling weakly and desperately away from the group. He stumbled over himself as he silently writhed and screamed in agony. Images were flashing past him, too fast for him to make any of them out, and burning themselves into his cornea. He felt like his skin and muscles were burning off, leaving only bone. His whole body was just a ball of excruciating pain, leaving his brain numb.

Then it all left, no voices, no pain, only the image of a man without a face clear in his mind. He was panting for much needed air as he tried to get his bearings. As he looked around, he found himself in what could only be described as a psycho ward. Nothing but padding and blank, white walls. As he walked around, searching for something, anything, he noticed something beige in the corner of his eye. He walked toward it, curiosity pushing him forward. It was a piece of paper, nothing more, but he picked it up nonetheless. He turned it over, examining it from every angle but finding nothing. He clutched it in his hand, feeling as if it held some importance despite it being nothing more than a blank piece of paper.

_Twenty two._ He had started to count the minutes as they passed while he sat in the corner of the padded, ivory room. He glanced down at the paper in his hands every now and then but still it held nothing. He sighed and leaned his head back against the wall. "What the hell is wrong with me?" he muttered with a groan. Just then, he felt a prick in his palm, like a small flame. With a furrowed brow, he lifted the paper to find words now burned into its surface. _Blood is what identifies you as who you are. _He read it twice, frowning, not knowing what to take from it. "Blood? What does blood have to do with anything?"He stared at his veins, a bright blue that was clear under his pale skin. After some thought, he tentatively pulled out a kunai and held it to his palm. With a wince, he made a shallow slice across his hand and watched the crimson liquid roll down his arm and through his fingers. He waited, expecting something to happen, but was disappointed to find everything as it was before; save for the few blood stains that now adorned the white padded floor. He grabbed the paper with a scowl and read it over once more, wondering what more it wanted from him. He smeared his blood over the words in frustration and tossed it to the floor.

It shook at first, and then began to glow, taking a different form. Kanosuke stared in amazement as the paper transformed before his eyes, shifting and changing, constantly moving. He gaped and stood slowly, using the wall for support before shuffling forward, stopping a foot away just in case. With a final, strong glow, it took a solid form, ceasing movement completely. He wrapped his hand hurriedly and knelt down to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing. It seemed like a very stubby sword with a very thin handle with a hole at the end, like it was meant to be put on something. He picked it up, feeling its weight and testing its durability. He looked into the hole at the bottom, like he was expecting something to pop out. With a gasp, he quickly grabbed his staff from behind him and shoved it in. He felt a click and without warning, the blade extended over the staff, attaching itself like a cover to the wooden structure. It kept making its way up, encasing his hand in a cold, steel glove that was surprisingly flexible despite its heavy look. When it was all done, his staff was completely covered by the hard metal and at the tip was a deadly sharp blade that held an ominous aura around it. Kanosuke could do nothing but stare in awe, turning his hand over and gripping his new toy. His chakra flowed freely throughout the weapon without him even trying, and it felt like an extension of himself.

The staff was ornately decorated with shimmering crystals that seemed to hold a foreign power. At the end of the pole arm was another, smaller and more lightweight, yet still deadly, blade. Kanosuke could feel the power flowing through his body, invading his normal chakra stream like a drug. He closed his eyes, soaking up his new found power and allowing it to reach every corner of his body. He heard the whispers again, louder this time and clear. _Use the powers from faraway lands to keep yours intact. A gift, if you will, from those who are also at risk. You are the only one who can…_

Kanosuke was pulled from his white escape back into reality, into his dank, dark reality. The first thing that hit him was the chill that bit his skin and made its way to his bones. Once again, he found himself alone, and he was starting to get used to it. Somehow, he knew where he needed to go, almost like his staff was guiding him, like _it_ was lusting for the kill. It scared him slightly, but he knew that this was no ordinary weapon. He walked in a daze through the mist, unaware of where his feet were actually taking him.

In his daze, he noticed a significant rise in temperature. He blinked rapidly at the licks of fire that flicked across the walls, towards him. He looked around, searching for an explanation and found the roof of the cave completely blown off. He made his way up into the sunlight to be greeted with an ugly sight. He yelped as he ducked to avoid the body of an all-too-familiar Sannin, bloodied and broken. He also saw Kakashi, clothes torn and tattered being held up by Sakura who was looking just as bad.

"Where the hell have you been?" Jiraiya yelled from behind through pants. Kanosuke blinked in confusion, but was brought to attention by a roar that sent chills down his spine. Looming over him was a ghastly beast with blood red eyes resembling that of a demon. What really shocked him, however, was the petite body that was strapped to its chest by some dark aura, which looked to him like black chakra, was none other than Tsunade, with eyes just as red and possessed as the demon she was controlling.

Seeing Naruto being flung like that snapped Jiraiya into action, therefore causing the others to do the same. Madara was gone, vanished without them even noticing, but no one seemed to mind anyways. Jiraiya came face to face with Pain, someone whom he was hoping he could avoid. He signaled to the others to stay back, and reluctantly they obeyed. "I wasn't expecting to see you so soon after our last encounter, Jiraiya-sensei," he said in a cool tone.

"We're not here for you Nagato, and I implore that you see reason! There's something much bigger going on here, something that will not only end your dreams but those of the entire shinobi world! There will be no retribution for you, no peace. But if you hand Naruto over to that man, you'll only enable him to continue with his plan for world domination." Jiraiya was trying to sound as reasonable as he could in hopes of convincing him, even if the chances were slim.

Pain seemed to contemplate his words for only a moment before staring blankly with swirling purple eyes. "Madara-sama wishes for peace, the ultimate peace, and that is what I fight for ultimately. Although we planned on getting to that peace through different methods, in the end, his way requires less death and suffering. I fight for the greater good, the good that this world doesn't realize it needs. I apologize, sensei, because I know you wish for the same peace, but the people will never reach it by themselves. And if you continue to fight the peace that we are working so hard towards, then I will finish what I failed to the last time we met."

Before Jiraiya could respond, Pain disappeared, Naruto going with him. He cursed silently and faced the group with fiery eyes. "We continue on. I'll inform you on the enemy as we go. We have to stop them from completing the ritual at _all cost_." They nodded in understanding and without a word, continued on.

Jiraiya told them all that he knew on Pain and how to defeat him, saying that if they didn't take him out first then they'd have no chance in winning. He warned them of any un-accounted for Akatsuki that they may encounter, and to keep a keen eye out for any surprises. They all knew what they were in for, and could only hope for the best. It would be a risky battle, this they knew for certain, and the probability that they would make it out alive was slim, but if they couldn't do it, no one could.

They were following Madara's distinct chakra trail, which they suspected he left behind on purpose just to lure them in. They passed through endless corridors, getting lost deeper and deeper within the massive expanse. They were coming into a more open area, as far as they could tell in the lighting, and the trail was coming to an end. Every ninja in the room was on edge, heart pounding loud in their ears and hands twitching at every sound they picked up. They were about to either make it or break it.

They all slowed in unison as they neared what seemed to be an altar with Madara at its base and Pain not far off. As Jiraiya looked closer, he recognized the limp figure at its center. "Hokage-sama" he heard Kakashi mutter next to him. He swallowed hard, anxious to see his princess.

"You've come just in time," Madara bellowed without turning. "I was beginning to worry that you'd miss the show! After all, you've come all this way for your precious princess, and it would be a shame to think that you'd miss her big scene." Sakura charged forward, fist at the ready, and aimed straight for the back off his head while Shikimaru held him down by the shadows. She brought her fist down with a grunt, but passed straight through, breaking part of the altar's base. "Foolish child," he said pitifully, "You certainly are Tsunade's student, heading straight into battle like that." He grabbed the back of her shirt and threw her to the side, right at Pain's feet. She skidded to a stop with a groan and was immediately dragged off the floor to come face to face with a very frightening Rinnengan.

"A few death's are worth a world of peace," he said mildly and tightened his grip on her neck. Tree branches shot up from the ground and broke his grip on her, allowing her to hop out of range where she was taken to safety by Yamamoto. Kakashi was on Pain in a split second, attacking from above with clenched fists. Every kick, every elbow, every jab was easily avoided by the orange-haired man. Even while being attacked by Lee, Kakashi, and Sakura he managed to stay three steps ahead. With a hard blow to the stomach, he sent Lee sprawling and quickly pivoted to deliver a bone shattering kick to Kakashi. He then spun and elbowed Sakura hard in the back, stealing her of her breath. "Pathetic," he said, disgusted, before turning to walk to Madara's side.

Jiraiya did a few short hand signs before taking in a massive amount of air and expelling a scorching flame, dispersing the two men from where they stood. "Now!" he yelled, followed by a very swift Neji, who sprinted straight to where his unconscious Hokage lay. He was caught off guard and easily swept to the side by Madara, who teleported to Tsunade's side with a long, black sword that exuded death. Pain was at his side with a barely conscious Naruto over his shoulder. Jiraiya ran as fast as he could to stop them, dodging his way through the multiple fights that were being held against the five different Pains. He pushed his legs to pump as fast as they could but still seemed so far away. With a hidden smile, Madara plunged the sword through Naruto's chest, directly into his heart.

"Naruto!" he yelled over the boy's agonized scream. Jiraiya was blocked by a giant body, one that dug its knee into the pit of his stomach. He fell to his knee, hacking up blood and trying to regain his breath. Through his blurred vision, he saw Madara slowly taking the sword out, extracting the Kyubi as he did so, the red chakra clinging to the blade. He felt a strong grip pull him up and slam him to the ground, nearly knocking him out. He wearily got up and delivered a palm strike that blew through one of Pain's bodies with what little chakra he could in a sort of half Rassengan, sending the man flying. He continued to limp his way towards the altar, which was just a mere yard away. His vision was still blurry and he could barely keep his balance, but tried his best to walk up the stairs to the top.

Naruto's body was flung at the Sannin, who caught the bleeding boy in his arms. He stared down at the boy's innocent face with wet eyes. "Ero-sennin," Naruto grumbled in pain. Jiraiya held his head to his chest and shushed him, letting his tears roll down into the boy's golden locks.

"Don't worry Naruto, your safe," he assured in a choked voice. He felt the ragged breathing on his chest cease and carefully placed the body down, closing the lids over the empty ocean blue orbs that used to be filled with such life. With hateful eyes, he made his way back up the altar to where Madara now held the sword over Tsunade's chest. Jiraiya lunged forward, attempting to grab the masked man but was blown back by an unseen force, one that came straight out of Pain's palm. He stumbled backwards, but kept his ground and let the chakra pool in his palms before shooting forward with a fiery Rassengan.

The sword was now glowing with all different colored chakras, one for each beast. It plunged into Tsunade's chest just as the rassengan made contact with Pain's unprepared stomach. Jiraiya's eyes widened as he saw her small body rise off the surface, sword still deep in her body. "Shit," was all he managed to get out before something bright exploded next to him, sending him and the now limp Pain flying, along with an unsuspecting Madara. Everyone was blinded by the light and deafened by the painfully loud wail that came from the floating Tsunade. It was a wail filled with years of loneliness and pain, of mourning and suffering. It was the moan of a beast that has longed for life, and was now more than willing to take it in its frustration and sorrow.

It was the Jyubi.

Tsunade's eyes were blood red, her mouth wide open as black smoke expelled from deep inside her soul. Something was moving under her green robe, trying to escape from its confines. An enormous black claw ripped its way out of her back, shooting through the cave's ceiling to grab onto something so it could pull itself all the way out of the gateway that was opened through Tsunade. Boulders rained down, crushing the last of the Pains and barely missing Naruto's unmoving figure as Kakashi pulled him out of the way and into his arms. Tsunade now hung from the arm that slowly pulled itself out of her tiny form, inching its way out. They all stared in horror from the rubble below as the monster pulled its entire upper body out, roaring at the setting sun in unsurpassed rage. Madara jumped onto the ledge above the caved in ceiling and cackled in victory, arms spread as if he was trying to embrace the demon.

"That's it! Awaken once more after your long years of suffering and confinement!" He now held a Rinnengan in one hand, after being handed it from Zetsu, who was half morphed into the ground next to the man.

"**Nagato has been eliminated, just as you wished Madara-sama**," a distorted voice said, coming from his ebony half.

"Yeah, and he wasn't even that good! Too bony in my opinion. Now Konan on the other hand…" the ivory half smiled sadistically at the memory. "It's too bad Kisame had to go and run off like that. I always wondered what a merman would taste like. What do you think, fish or man?"

Madara chuckled and pulled his mask away, carefully replacing his eye with a jutsu. He growled in pain as his current eye was removed, but quickly planted the swirling purple one its place. He blinked, smiling wickedly as he looked at the world through different eyes. "Mask," he ordered as he held his hand out to Zetsu, who placed a white one with intricate carvings and two eye holes into his gloved hand. He placed it over his face and clapped his hands together before doing an about face. "Now then, let's start the show."

The Jyubi had managed to pull its entire body out and now loomed over Tsunade's possessed form. It was pitch black with hard, worn armor and a fierce, dragon-like face with two long horns sticking out of its head. It was tied to Tsunade be a line of black chakra, who now gripped the handle of the sword ticking out of her chest. Jiraiya jumped out of the cavern and stared angrily at the masked man who stood just yards away. He could see Tsunade jerkily pull the sword out of her body and hold it up in the air, where it began to form a black ball that held the power of all nine tailed beasts in a concentrated form. The ball rose into the air before plunging into the giant's chest, combining its separated power once and for all. It let out a mighty roar that shook the ground that they stood on, immediately it charged.

"Watch and wait kiddies," Madara said anxiously. He did some foreign chant and preformed unknown hand signs at a rapid speed. The beast drew closer, Tsunade strapped securely to its chest. Jiraiya backed away, not sure what to do, seeing as he stood no chance against the colossal being. But Madara held his ground, and around him a rune began to glow. The purple aura surrounded his body and floated around them ominously. He clapped his hands together right as the beast lunged at him and the sheer force of the seal knocked even the massive figure of the demon back. A giant purple eye appeared before him, closed but still chilling to anyone that looked at it. Just as the Jyubi managed to stand again, the eye shot open. It made the beast freeze where it stood, paralyzing it. Even Jiraiya, who was behind it, could feel it looking through him, into the deepest parts of his soul that he didn't even know existed. Madara smirked under his mask and placed an open hand into the eye, reaching out towards the Jyubi, pulling it towards him against its will. It kept shuffling forward, transfixed by the eye, until it was within reach for the man controlling it. It bowed its head to him and, delicately, he placed his hand upon its head, sucking in a breath suddenly as it entered the Jyubi's mind.

It was wet; water surrounded him, coming up to his knees in the prison that was only lit by a few candles that floated near the walls. There was a cell, small and cold, with nothing in it but a light. He saw a small figure slumped in the center of it, breathing raggedly. Pale blonde bangs covered the face, but it was clear to him who it was. She slowly stood, face still down, hiding behind her hair. "What have you done," she whispered in a distorted voice, one that was underlined with a disturbing demonic tone. "Why have you awakened me when all I cause is destruction? Do you know the pain of being a monster? Of being able to build nothing but destroy everything? The sorrow that I must wallow in after slaughtering millions because I have no control of my power is something that a mere man like you would never understand, something that only a weapon like I can even comprehend. To be built to destroy when all you want is to live, to die, wanting someone to finally slay you so you may continue peacefully only in death. These are things that selfish beings like you and all your race can never even begin to understand." She lurched forward in an inhuman manner to clench the bars of her prison tightly and glare at Madara with tragic, hateful red eyes. "You know nothing of the horrors that I've experienced! Of the pain that I've lived through because of what I've caused! And even now all you want is to control my power for your own selfish needs!"

Madara stared at the fuming Jyubi placidly, unfazed by the hatred that she was projecting onto him. Calmly he stepped forward so that he was only inches away from the bars to stare deep into her crimson eyes with his own unequal ones. "I don't need to hear your sob story. All I want from you is your power so that I may fulfill my own plans. But don't worry it's all for the greater good of this world. And at the end of the day, you will have the peace that you lust for, as will all the other 'selfish beings' that make up my race," he said smugly, completely confident that he would get what he wanted.

She let go of the bars to stare at him, somewhat shocked and disgusted by what he said. "Fine," she said with contempt, "If you want my power, then I'll also give you my pain." She reached out towards him and from her open hand came a strange, translucent chakra that attached itself to his heart. He fell to his knees with a grunt and found himself looking through the eyes of the Jyubi, feeling what the Jyubi felt, the sorrow that came from the loneliness and resentment towards an otherwise peaceful being. It poisoned his heart and dragged on his soul like a million stones. Years of pain and anger filled every ounce of his body within seconds and he soon began to flash through the lives of the different tailed beasts, the jinchuriki, the death and despair that each one of them felt and the hatred that was held against them every waking minute of their lives.

Jiraiya watched as Madara and the Jyubi remained still, lost in time. No one dared to move however, despite the opportunity to take out the masked figure right then and there. They all seemed to be paralyzed under the rinnengan's hypnotic effect. It was like a heavy cloud fell upon them and left them in a trance, preventing them from moving. Suddenly, Madara fell to the floor and clutched his head in agony, screaming in excruciating pain. He writhed on the floor, arching his back as if he was trying to escape from his torment. The Jyubi was no longer under his spell, but watched in what seemed like tragic amusement. Madara tried to crawl away, reaching for Jiraiya, gasping for breath and still squirming in pain. "P-please," he begged at the Sannin's feet, "Have mercy! Kill me! End this pain! AHH!" he grabbed his head once again and fell onto his back, chest heaving as he endured his silent torture. Jiraiya backed away, bumping into whoever was behind him as he did so.

Without warning, the black chakra that surrounded the Jyubi shot up through the floor beneath where Madara lay and straight through his body, puncturing multiple spot on his body. He instantly went still, too still to be alive. The chakra receded back into the ground, leaving only Madara's dead corpse behind. The same chakra tails lashed out and shattered the floating Rinnengan eye, pulling everyone out of their dreamlike state. Jiraiya sucked in air and staggered forward, surprised by the sudden snap back into reality. He felt a something warm and comforting spread over his body and looked up to see the translucent figure of a child, one with pleading eyes.

"Please, kill me. Kill me so I may live in peace through my death. Kill me to save her soul, the one that you love. I promise that if you do, all will be made right again." With that, the small child disappeared, leaving only the snarling Jyubi for him to deal with.

"You guys hear that?" Jiraiya asked with a renewed vigor. "It wants us to fight." A smile managed to grace his lips, even slightly. "Well then, let's not keep it waiting."

As if on cue, they all darted forward, each confident and hopeful about winning this fight. Shikimaru tried his best to hold the beast down, and did somewhat thanks to the shadows that the setting sun brought, allowing him to stab through the beast's tattered armor with ease. Kakashi managed to get it in the eye with his chidori, blinding it momentarily so that Sakura and Lee could give it two devastating kicks on either side of its jaw. It reared it pain, almost breaking free of Shinkimaru's hold, wailing into the sky. It pounded back down onto the ground as one of its tails whipped hard and fast, catching Kakashi off guard and slamming him into the ground. Lee and Sakura barely managed to get off safe, even with Jiraiya taking the blow for them, sending him flying backwards where he skidded to a stop, almost falling back into the collapsed cave. Sakura gingerly helped Kakashi up and laid him down on a rock to tend to any wounds. Jiraiya heard a shuffle by his head and glanced up.

"Where the hell have you been?" he asked Kanosuke through pants, trying to get up and stumbling as he did so. Kanosuke's eyes darted around to try and understand what was happening, but ended up asking the Sannin anyways. "To put it shortly," Jiraiya stopped and winced as a wave of pain set over him," Madara's dead, Tsunade's being possessed, and that thing's trying to kill us," he said bluntly, pointing at the Jyubi, who was shaking in an attempt to get Gaara's sand away from him.

"Ah," the boy replied and gripped his new spear even tighter. _Could this possibly be…_ the thought trailed off. He could feel the spear pulling him towards the demon, and didn't even bother questioning what he was supposed to do with it. Jiraiya patted him on the shoulder, as there was nothing else to say, and together they made their way back into the battle.

The Jyubi swept its claw, nearly knocking everyone down just by the sheer force even with Gaara protecting everyone. Kankuro's puppet, Sasori, danced around the beast with ease, sending its poisoned coil straight through the Jyubi's side, where it cut through until it was sticking out the other side. It reared in response, leaving an exposed underside to one of Jiraiya's giant rasengan, followed by Yamamoto circling its torso with thick tree branches to hold it in place so that Kiba and Akamaru could drill its vulnerable stomach. It easily broke through its bonds and roared in its rage, thrashing its tails around wildly and hitting Temari hard, sending her sprawling. Sakura quickly went to help her also, but was hit violently by one of the tails, knocking her onto her back and stealing her breath altogether.

A slight rain had started, soaking the shinobi's clothes, making it harder for their already exhausted muscles to move with dragging gear. Sakura was still seeing stars, and was roughly grabbed by one of the tails, which flung her weak body through the air with every move it made. Kanosuke saw something, a perfect opportunity, and the beast's vital point was revealed to him. Without hesitation, he sprinted forward, leaping high into the air, and plunged his spear down hard into the very center of the Jyubi's back with a powerful and finalizing scream. He was lightning fast, and channeled all his chakra into the strike, pinpointing the spot that would end the beast once and for all. It collapsed to the ground, an agonizing cry tearing through the air from deep within the beast. The tail dropped Sakura, making her tumble to the ground where she lay unconscious. Black smoke began seep from under Kanosuke, who breathlessly stood there; spear still driven into the monstrous body. It was then that he realized that what he was holding truly was from out of this world.

The smoke engulfed Tsunade and began to soak into her body. She lurched upright, eyes glowing red still, a furious glare painted on her face. Her black veins were clear under the pale, anemic skin, looking like tattoos all over her body. She moved inhumanly fast, easily slicing Kankuro's torso with her sharp claws and slamming his face into the ground, leaving him unconscious. Even Neji, who was an expert at tai-jutsu, was too slow for her bone crushing blow to his ribs. Jiraiya could only watch with wide eyes, not knowing if the water that rolled down his face was his own or the rain's.

Kanosuke heard a voice again, clear and pronounced. _This spear will seal the my power within you once you stab the girl, but you must immediately kill yourself by its blade to end the my reign of terror forever. Please, you are one of us. You are the only one that can do it… _The voice died down. Kanosuke stared at the ground, processing what he was just told. _All my life, I never knew who I was, or even what I was. But now… one of them…_

He had decided. He knew he had no choice, and to die nobly for the greater good, even when not recognized for it, was better than living a life achieving nothing. He knew he didn't have much time, and could tell from looking at his comrades that they were in the same situation. Who would have thought that a possessed hokage would be deadlier that the most feared force on the planet? He ran to Jiraiya, who seemed to be lost, and shook him hard to get his attention. "Jiraiya-sama!" he exclaimed, desperate to tell him what needed to be done.

No one wanted to attack the possessed Tsunade in hopes of hurting her, and would ultimately pay the price with their blood. Many were left unconscious, and others too weak to go on. Gaara was trying his hardest to keep the Hokage away from him, but couldn't seem to keep up with her. He finally managed to restrain her with his sand, but she broke free with ease and stabbed through his chest with a fast hand. He fell to the floor stone cold, leaving only Jiraiya and Kanosuke left. Jiraiya got her attention and prepared himself, ready for whatever was coming while Kanosuke hid to get her when her guard was down. He needed time to prepare himself for what he was about to do, ending your life wasn't something that came easily.

Tsunade cocked her head to the side, making Jiraiya shudder, and lurched forward unnaturally. Jiraiya got in a readied stance just as she leaped in the air to slash down at him, and even through the demonic veil, he found his Hime, somewhere deep inside that shell.

"Forgive me Hime, I broke my promise to you," He said in a tormented tone and shut his eyes tight, waiting for the blow.

To find that it never came.

He cracked an eye open to Tsunade, _his_ Tsunade, staring at him with sad, amber eyes overflowing with tears, standing in front of him in mid strike. "Baka-kun," she whispered in a hoarse voice. Her whole demeanor changed then, reverting back to the demon-possessed Tsunade that was there just a second before. She covered her face and darted backwards, like the Tsunade that he came to love was fighting from the inside. She growled and went for Jiraiya again, but this time slower and with a torn expression on her face, like something was holding her back from completely slaughtering him. Her attacks were halfhearted. She threw a punch, but he easily blocked it. She did a roundhouse kick aimed straight for his head, which he ducked out of the way of and turned her around completely, holding her from behind as tightly as he could, keeping her locked to his chest.

"Kanosuke! Do it now!" he yelled over the pounding rain. Tsunade squirmed in his grip, but was unable to get out. Her back arched as an anguished scream ripped through her throat, echoing through the night. Jiraiya buried his head into her shoulder, whispering, "Please Hime, forgive me, your knight in shining armor failed to save you this time." Her chest was heaving, her head thrashing from side to side, her legs were flailing, but he refused to let go.

Kanosuke ran out, spear at the ready, but stopped short after seeing Jiraiya right where his spear was going to end up. "Get back! It's going to hit you too if you don't move!" he shouted to the Sannin.

"Just do it! I don't matter kid!"

Kanosuke bit his lip hard, but knew that there was no way he was getting the man to budge. He took one last look at sky, staring into the moon's radiant light. With a sad smile, he rushed forward, pulling his right arm back for the finishing strike. He could see the seal that was floating just over Tsunade's stomach and kept his eyes locked on the target. With a grunt, he thrust his hand forward, his aim true and solid as it tore through not one, but to bodies.

Jiraiya felt something hot shoot through his torso, like his insides were on fire. He fell down on one knee with a grunt, unable to keep his weight up anymore. He felt Tsunade still in his arms and instantly knew that the deed was done. He slumped, gasping for breath, the cold steel clanking on the ground behind him with each weak heave he took. He felt her head roll backwards onto his shoulder, moaning as the evil soul within her was slowly being extracted from its exhausted shell. The rain stung like a thousand needles where hit his wound, but all he could focus on was the woman that was in his arms, dying slowly and painfully. Her pain was his pain, and this was the last time he would ever share here sorrow.

Kanosuke gazed down at the scene with remorseful eyes, and slowly, carefully, he pulled his spear out. He could feel the destructive power of the demon crawl through his body, taking over. He pointed the blade right over his heart, thinking of the life that he never had, the love that he never felt, the friends that he never made, and smiled. _At least no one will miss me when I'm gone_, he thought as a single tear ran down his cheek, hot and salty compared to the chilling rain that bounced off his skin. Without a moment's hesitation, he dug the blade deep into his chest, gasping as the cold metal punctured not only his heart, but also the beast that lay dormant in it. He stumbled forward, hitting the ground hard, pushing the spear deeper into his body. He was becoming numb, cold, and surprisingly, peaceful. He heard a faint voice, sweet and silky, whisper a thank you next to his ear. It was the voice that guided him through it all, the one that haunted him, and the one that soothed him. But soon he heard nothing, felt nothing, like he was being swallowed by blackness. He closed his eyes hesitantly, and never again opened them.

The two were breathing heavily, grasping onto what little consciousness they had left. Tsunade opened her eyes, wincing at the hot liquid that flowed through her abdomen. She could feel the crimson warmth spread over her clothes, soaking through the already drenched gear. "So is this it?" she asked the man who was kneeling behind her, refusing to let go. "Is this where we all die?"

Jiraiya chuckled, a deep, tired laugh, and tensed as another wave of pain took hold of his body. "Is death really all that bad as long as you're with the people you love?" he asked in a husky voice. He groaned and fell forward, nearly crushing Tsunade on the way down. She struggled to catch him, and held his head in her lap, caressing his red striped cheeks tenderly. She was close to the end; death was just waiting and laughing for her to catch up with him. Her blood was staining his shocking white hair, which she frowned at, brushing the sopping hair out of his face. His hand snaked its way to hers, gripping it loosely, and immediately, she felt it slip, losing all grip and going cold. She couldn't cry, no tears would come, but instead laid her numb body down. She rested next to him as she also let her body grow still. The last thing that she saw was the grim smile on his face, and it stayed with her even after she was swallowed up by death's cloak.

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**And that's that folks! Story's over!**

**Just kidding. I just like to leave you hanging. Very tragic chapter indeed, wouldn't you agree? I actually cut a chapter in half just because I thought it was better with just this, so another chapter is on its way soon (I hope). As always, I appreciate review, and thanks to everyone that stayed with the story even during its unannounced hiatus.**

**Hope you liked it.**

**Auf Wiedersehen!**


	11. Chapter 11: The Power Of Love

**Can you believe it's been a little over a year since I've started writing this, and posting stories here at all? I'm both glad and regretful to announce that this will be the **_**LAST CHAPTER**_**, so savor it while you can. **

**Thank you all for staying with me through it all and I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.**

I don't own Naruto, nor will I ever.

Kanosuke lifted himself up tiredly, his body refusing to move faster than absolutely necessary. He looked around but could see nothing but white, even his clothes were a loose cotton whiter than bone. _Why is it always white?_ He wondered, irritated that he always ended up alone in what seemed like an insane asylum. The sound of clicking heels made his ears perk up, and he looked around curiously. A hand rested itself on his shoulder from behind, making him jump slightly. It was gentle, feminine, and paler than the moon. The woman walked around him, looking him straight in the eye once she was in view. She was beautiful, a goddess cloaked in white silk.

"Am I…" he started, but didn't want to say it completely.

"Yes," she said sweetly, "but like me, you are not really dead, even if your body has decayed." He gave her a cynical look, not understanding at all what she was playing at. She chuckled, understanding his confusion. "You have the blood of the gods, as your kind like to refer to us as. A man once obsessed with experimenting for a perfect being tested a strange blood that he found from a fallen beast, one that wandered off from our land and met its untimely demise in your world. He injected this fluid into a child, barely old enough to talk. You are the result of that experiment, a human who has enough of our blood to wield our weapons, as you've already found out. I am the soul that was locked inside the Jyubi, forced to live my life as a monster bent on destruction. You have freed me of my prison, and for that I thank you." she laid a soft kiss on his cheek, startling him. She began to walk away, much to his surprise, and he followed shortly behind, grabbing her wrist to stop her.

"Wait!" he said breathlessly, still trying to grasp what she was telling him. She turned, curious to see what he had to say. The scene that burned itself into his mind right before he… _died_, came back to him. Seeing his Hokage like that, everyone dead around him.

"The others weren't supposed to die," he stated with authority. "I was supposed to be the only one. They didn't deserve what they got," he explained to the amused woman, who was looking at him with a raised brow. He looked at the ground, trying to sort out his words. "Is there any way… can you bring them back?" he asked hesitantly. He heard a soft laugh come from the woman, and looked up hopefully. "Please," he begged with hurt eyes, "is there any way for you to give them life once again?"

She thought about it, tapping her dainty finger to her chin. She shrugged, "I don't see why not. I've always dreamed of giving instead of taking, and I think this is the perfect place to start."

Kanosuke's face lit up, his spirits high. "You serious?" he asked with a laugh. They walked through a corridor, the teen ecstatic that he would be able to make up for what he's caused. "Oh, I never caught your name by the way," he said just to make conversation. "I'm-"

"Kanomaru, I know already. Although it is not the name that you're known as in your world, people will see you as such here since you hold his blood. Your name being similar is nothing more than a coincidence. Perhaps it's the eyes," she mused to herself, forgetting that he was there completely. "Oh, yes, my name is Miyuki."

"Miyuki," he muttered to himself, testing the name out for the first time. "Okay then Miyuku-sama, where are we going exactly?" he wondered out loud, realizing for the first time that he had no idea where they were going.

"We're here already," she said calmly. Kanosuke looked down and whistled. He could see the scene that he had been at just moments ago, and it wasn't pretty. He frowned, feeling his heart tug at seeing his own body lying still in the field of death. He noticed, however, the lack of spear, leaving only a gaping hole in his back. The rain was still coming down hard, giving a solemn feel to the already tragic scene. They were looking at it through what seemed like a giant glass window that covered the entire expanse of the floor. Miyuki treaded lightly to the center, ripples following in her wake where her feet touched. She twirled once, twice, gracefully moving her arms like a dancer. She was chanting something softly, inaudible to even his trained ears. He was entranced by her majestic figure, twisting and turning in fluid motions, like still water being set into motion. Her skin, pale and smooth, started to shine as a bright veil covered her. She stopped abruptly, and then gently touched the center of the glass.

The water rippled endlessly, shimmering in the light. Her voice was clear, loud, but still sweet and silky. "You have done no wrong. Walk this earth once more as grateful beings who now know the bitter taste of death." As soon as those words left her lips, a powerful wind filled the room, catching Kanosuke off guard and nearly knocking him over. It all died down immediately, as if it never started, and Miyuki stood in the center of the room, whose floor was now replaced with solid white, with an outstretched hand, reaching for him. "Now then," she said with a subtle smile, "Take my hand, I have a lot to teach you about your new home."

Kanosuke smiled and took her hand in his, letting her drag him farther and farther into the light until he was engulfed with it completely, ready to take on a new adventure.

Tsunade woke with a moan. Whatever she was on was bumpy and it didn't do her sore body any justice. Who knew death would be such a nuisance? She opened her heavy eyes, instantly closing them again after being attacked by a light far too bright for someone in her position. She tried to lift herself up, but her pounding head wouldn't allow it. "Woah, Hime! Don't try to move so fast, ya? You're going to knock yourself out in your condition," a deep, worried voice warned from somewhere above her. Rough hands helped her to sit up, leaning her against his body. "Man Tsunade, you've gone through hell haven't you?"

"My hell is being with you Baka," she answered with a smile. "But who said hell was all that bad?" She forced her eyes open, taking in the sun for the first time in a _long _time. They were on Gamabunta's giant back, crashing through the forest to Konoha, she assumed. All around her were shinobi, tired and worn from a long battle. She was amazed at the sheer number that Jiraiya brought with him just for her sake, though she wasn't surprised in the least.

A massive wave of guilt washed over her when she realized that she was the cause for all of this. Silent tears rolled down her eyes, slowly falling on her tattered robe. She wasn't sure if they were tears of joy or sorrow, not that it mattered anyways. The only thing that she cared about at the moment was the fact that she was going home, where it was safe and comfortable and familiar. She was in his arms again, feeling his strong heart beat against her sore back. She was surrounded by people who risked their lives for her without hesitation. It made her feel all fuzzy inside actually.

"You ready to go home Hime?" Jiraiya whispered absently. The forest was calming and quaint and the weather was surprisingly beautiful. All the worn shinobi around them were either asleep or simply soaking up the sun's warmth as they rested their exhausted bodies. Tsunade was trying not to doze off herself. She managed to reach back for his hand and brought it around her so she could rest it in her lap, stroking it tenderly with her soft hand.

"Yeah," she whispered and squeezed gently.

They made it to Konoha's gates as the sun began to set. Many shinobi were sent to the hospital, including Naruto and Gaara, who were breathing fine but still unconscious. Others were simply told to go home and rest, which they did with glee. Jiraiya brought Tsunade back to his apartment, since it was closer, and laid her on his bed, which was made to accommodate two people, something he needed for all the girls that came and went in his place. Not that he would be doing anything like that anymore. Heaven forbid Tsunade catch him doing something naughty. He liked his favorite appendage just where it was thank you.

He left her to ready a bath for the two of them. He was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to dip into a hot bath to rest his tired muscles. He leaned his head back against the bathroom wall and closed his eyes to listen to the water fill the tub. He wondered how he'd, or any of them for that matter, managed to get out of that place alive, Tsunade especially. Not that he was complaining or anything, he was just curious. He was sure he'd…

"Better not to think about it right now," he muttered to himself. He walked back into his room and shook Tsunade gently to get her attention. "Hime, you want a bath?"

Tsunade lazily drifted her eyes open and sighed heavily. "Please," she groaned as she raised her hands for him to pull her up. He lifted her up and helped her to the bath, which was now full and hot. They both shed their clothes and stepped in, melting into the water's inviting warmth. Tsunade leaned back into him, mostly by habit by now, and rolled her head back to close her heavy eyes. Jiraiya rested his hands on her stomach, rubbing her soothingly, when he felt a patch of uneven, raised skin. He stopped and stared down at her nearly unconscious face. He slid a hand silently between them and felt her back for a matching mark.

He found it just next to her spine, an identical mark to the one on her stomach, no bigger than the width of a spear. He rubbed his own torso and wasn't surprised to feel what was left of an otherwise fatal wound. This only confirmed his suspicion. They really did meet their untimely end back there at that damned cliff. But who was it that did them in exactly? He could only wonder.

"Shit!" Jiraiya exclaimed with a jolt, shaking Tsunade awake in the process. She looked up at him with a mixture of annoyance and concern. He ran a wet hand through his damp hair and stared off at who knows what with a look that one wore when trying to remember something. She reached up to pat his cheek softly for his attention, which he gave her with concentrated eyes.

"What's up?" she inquired with slight concern. He wasn't one to forget things, much unlike her, so it was worrisome whenever something slipped his sharp attention. He sighed and brought a large hand to his forehead to cover his eyes in thought.

"There was a boy," was his hoarse answer, which didn't exactly help Tsunade in understanding just what the hell he was getting so frustrated about. She didn't push him though, since she knew he would explain once he had everything worked out for himself. It scared her slightly that she knew the man so well, but he knew and understood her better than she did herself most of the time, so she really had nothing to say about it. She brought her arms behind her head to wrap them around his neck so she could bring his face closer to hers.

"You want to talk about it?" she asked quietly. It felt strange yet satisfying to be the one who listened for once, instead of her bitching to him about how much her life sucked like she usually did.

He was quiet for a while, mulling over what he just remembered when he unwrapped her from around him and stood, grabbing a towel as he did so to wrap it around his hips. "The water's starting to get cold. How bout' I tell you once you're out," he suggested and walked into his bedroom with his arms crossed, deep in thought. Tsunade watched him walk away with a troubled gaze. It wasn't often that she saw the man distressed.

After drying off and changing, Tsunade walked out and smiled when she found Jiraiya Sitting in the edge of his bed with only a pair of sweats on and his towel wrapped around his head to dry his long hair. Something about the scene reminded her of how he looked as a child, pouting when he didn't get what he wanted or if Orochimaru beat him in something once again. His brows were knit close together and his hands were crossed in front of his mouth with his elbows resting on his knees. She walked over and held his face in her hands to make him look up at her. "Wanna' talk yet?"

He chuckled, letting a small smile cross his frustrated features. "Sit down first, it might be long," he said as he patted the spot next to him. She took the seat and crossed her arm into his to trace patterns absentmindedly on his forearm.

"So what's got your thong in a knot?" she asked playfully. He smirked and shook his head. God he really loved this woman.

"There was another boy that came with us, but no one knew who he was. His name was Kanosuke, and to be honest, we wouldn't have won without him," he explained in a somber voice. "He wasn't a normal kid, that much is for sure, but that's not what's bothering me. What's got me all confused is the fact that he wasn't there when I woke up and got everyone on Gamabunta. What's even worse is that I completely forgot about him up until now!" he buried his face in his hands and started to mutter to himself. Tsunade pulled him up by his shoulders and looked into his obsidian eyes with a raised brow. "What?" he questioned, uneasy with the look she was giving him.

"That's going to come out of your paycheck you know," she said sternly. He rolled his eyes and chuckled to himself.

"Did you smoke a joint when I wasn't looking or something? Cuz' I'm the one that needs it right now, not you."

Tsunade laughed for the first time in Kami knows how long. It felt great. And it wouldn't be the last time now that she didn't have a care in the world. "No, I'm just happy to be home and close to my sex toy," she snuggled into him for extra emphasis.

"Oh, so I'm your sex toy now?" he inquired with a naughty grin.

"You have a problem with that?" she asked doubtfully.

"Not one bit," he responded quickly.

They laid there in total silence, simply enjoying each other's company. It felt like everything that had happened leading up to that moment was nothing more than a terrible nightmare, the kind that you struggle to remember when you wake the next morning. Tsunade kept stroking the circle shaped scar on his stomach, like her hand was attracted to it like a magnet to metal. She stopped suddenly when something dawned on her, making her gasp.

"I know the boy that you're talking about," she whispered in a small voice. Jiraiya's ears perked up and his jaw clenched.

"Who is he?" he asked, trying not to sound desperate. He didn't even bother asking how she knew. Stranger things have been happening to him lately, so he honestly didn't care.

"While I was being locked up, I had this dream. It was a terrible nightmare, and I was walking through this massive corridor of mutated experiments." She shuddered at the memory. "Anyways, before I woke up, I saw a man inject something into a little boy, barely older that five. The only thing that I remember was the boy's striking eyes, like that of a cat or feline of some sort…" she trailed off in thought, trying to relive one of her worst nightmare's to help shed some light on the situation.

Jiraiya sat up abruptly upon hearing the child had feline eyes. How many people had eyes like that? The answer: exactly one. She sat up with him, knowing she hit the nail on the head. She didn't have any idea how she knew, she just did. Maybe it was just intuition.

"That's Kanosuke," Jiraiya grumbled and hastily pulled the towel off his head to toss it on the floor. He rustled his unruly hair to its natural spiky mane and pushed his bangs out of his eyes. He gently moved Tsunade's shirt up just enough to see her scar. She yelped when he did so, but didn't protest. It wasn't like he was being perverted or anything, so she found no reason to knock him out. He traced the scar and looked up at her with knowing, wise eyes. "This," he tapped her stomach, "Is the only proof that we have that he actually existed," Jiraiya said carefully.

"What the hell are you talking about?" She slapped his hand so he would stop tapping his finger against her stomach and pulled her shirt down. She had no idea how she even got that thing but decided she'd rather not know. The brain erases memories to protect your sanity, and she didn't think it was best to mess with her body's natural defense systems.

Jiraiya blinked in surprise, "You don't remember anything?" He wasn't sure it was possible to forget something as massive as what she just went through, but this was Tsunade he was talking to, and she wasn't known for having the best memory, ask Shizune. But still, not even she could forget something like that, even if she wasn't conscious half the time. She was still there, he was sure of it. He saw her when he was facing off with that demonic beast.

She shook her head. "I'm telling you the truth Jiraiya! I don't remember much of anything really. That bastard had me drugged out of my mind, so everything's kind of a blur, except a few clear moments, like that dream I just told you about. Other than that though…"

He nodded his head understandingly. "I see," he whispered. "I suppose I'll just have to believe that he's alive somewhere. Somehow…"

The two spent the next few days curled up tight in their blanket cocoons, only rising out of their slumber to eat or make an urgent dash to the bathroom. Tsunade slept blissfully and without dreaming, which was a-okay with her considering how her latest ones went. Jiraiya slept like a block, not even bothering to move in his unconsciousness, allowing his spent body and mind to be at peace for the first time in what seemed like forever. The third day of recovery, however, was interrupted by a rapid and eager knock at the front door, waking the two dazed sannin out of their dreamy haze.

Jiraiya looked expectantly at the unfocused amber gaze and saw no intentions of her getting up. With a drawn out groan he flopped out of the warm confines that were his blankets and stumbled clumsily to the door, where the rapid knocks were getting louder and more urgent by the second. He flipped his hair out of his eyes, ran a large hand down the front of his face, and opened the door to find none other than a large-eyed Shizune clutching tightly to a squirming Tonton in one arm and a thermos in the other, which he could only assume was filled with some kind of hot, herbal concoction. He smiled lazily and ignorantly at the frantic stare that she gave him, mouth agape and a rosy tint crawling up her cheeks after processing that she was being greeted by a shirtless Jiraiya. "Mornin' Shizune," he grumbled cheerfully, a bright smile cracking through his drowsy expression.

After the initial shock passed, there was no shutting the young women up.

"Jiraiya-sama!" a deep bow with a snap back up, "As soon as I heard that Tsunade-sama was back in town I brewed up some fast healing tea and darted to her office, but then realized how silly that was considering that she abhors work and would never go in on her own accord, especially not in the shape that she's in, which I assume was beyond exhausted due to having gone through so much. The second place that popped into my mind was your apartment, since I thought you would take the responsibility of bringing her back to health and- oh thank you," Jiraiya hadn't heard a word that she said and decided that he should start shoving her through the door since she didn't seem like she was going to be stopping anytime soon. Once inside, he grabbed her thermos to set down and guided her into his room, to where Tsunade was hogging up the entire bed.

"But I heard that she went through so much so I tried my hardest to stay strong and do my best to help her get through whatever emotional or physical damage she went through, and I thank you for doing the same. Just know that I'm forever indebted to you for saving Tsunade-sama, even if you would have done it without me asking, I am grateful and-"

"You have a visitor Hime," Jiraiya said wearily, trying his best to not slap a hand over Shizune's mouth as she spouted information at a mile a minute. Tsunade's head popped up in a tangle of pale gold and turned to where she heard his voice. She was only able to brush her hair out of her face before she was tackled by the black flash that was Shizune.

"Tsunade-sama!" she shrieked as she squeezed tightly around the confused woman's torso and sobbed joyfully into her small shoulder. Tsunade grunted as she was pinned to the bed and went still for a little while as she tried to register who was trying to strangle her at the minute before slowly patting her shoulder.

"Good to see you too Shizune," she mumbled through Shizune's robe, which was suffocating her at the moment. Shizune jumped off once she realized she was doing more harm than good by choking the Hokage and quickly apologized. She wiped her misty eyes on her sleeve and grinned widely, watching Tonton jump excitedly up and down on Tsunade's lap as she woke herself up and looked around.

Shizune sat across from Tsunade in the living/dining room, interrogating the blonde as they waited for the coffee that Jiraiya promised to make. Tsunade slumped in her chair with a small smile as she let the raven haired girl talk her ear off about everything that she needed to catch up on or upcoming events that she needed to be to and basically everything that she failed to tell her for the month or two that she was away. Strangely enough, hearing that she would be getting no sleep for the next five months since she had so much stuff to do was slightly comforting. It only reinforced that she was, in fact, home again, and for good this time.

"God damn, when is this ever going to end?" Tsunade moaned as she tossed the horrid plate,bowl,cone, whatever the hell it was, Hokage hat down onto her desk and fell face down onto the green couch that she was oh so thankful for having for the past couple days. Jiraiya closed the door behind him after letting Shizune in, who was carrying a twenty pound stack of paper as usual.

"Well what do you expect Hime?" Jiraiya said with a scoff as he paced across the office to open the giant window on the far side. "You can't go missing for an extended period of time and expect to just go back to living like normal. Besides, this was just a little speech saying 'Hey guys, I'm alive thanks to the wonderful and skilled shinobi who's being forced to tag along at all the boring ass meetings even though he has no say in what goes on in Konoha since he's not even an advisor or anything, but I can make him since I'm the Hokage and all, and did I mention that he save my sorry ass?'''

He did the whole impersonation in a falsetto with the disregarded white Hokage hat placed unevenly on his head, and even Shizune had to stifle a laugh at how ridiculous he looked. Tsunade simply raised her hand just enough to answer back with a not-so-friendly finger. Shizune dropped the papers on the desk and flipped glanced at the schedule on the desk before heading out towards the door.

"Don't forget about the festival the village is holding in your name tonight Tsunade-sama! We wouldn't want the guest of honor missing her own party. Oh! And some of the Kages will be there also so no sake for the night!" Shizune gave her teacher a warning look before closing the door.

"Jeez, you'd think she was the one looking after me and not the other way around," Tsunade said as she rolled onto her back.

"I've had that impression for a while Hime," Jiraiya said in a calm voice as he stared down at the town, imagining what it would be like had he taken up the Hokage position.

"I feel a bit guilty, actually," Tsunade continued with her arm covering her eyes.

"Hm?" Jiraiya hummed to show that he was listening.

"Well, I mean, what did I do really to deserve my own festival? Shouldn't it be held for all the shinobi that came and nearly got killed?"

"I _was_ killed, actually," Jiraiya corrected matter-of-factly.

"And what about that kid?" she continued as if he hadn't said anything. "Shouldn't we put up a statue or something for him?"

"Well seeing as how no one even knew him, I don't really think it matters," Jiraiya commented while scratching his jaw thoughtfully.

"We'd know the importance of it though, and I think that should be enough," she countered while sitting up, swinging her legs over the edge.

Her eyes raked over Jiraiya's wide back, the white hair that dangled down past his hips and ended where his hands were clasped loosely behind him. Her amber orbs moved out to the window, to the setting globe of fiery light that was sinking slowly into the horizon, behind the watchful faces of her predecessors as they looked dutifully over the village. She silently got up and snaked her way through the presents and scrolls that were scattered around her office to stand behind the large man that looked like a statue in the sun's rich glow. She wrapped her arms through his and around his waist, craning her neck so she could stare out, watching people set up the decorations for the festival while other's set up booths and shops set out merchandise.

"There are others out there. Just because Madara is gone doesn't mean that we're in the clear," Tsunade whispered just loud enough for Jiraiya's ears to pick up.

He snapped out of his trance and tilted his head down to catch a glimpse of her tranquil expression despite the slight hopelessness in her voice. "You just have to deal with them one at a time Hime. There's no use stressing over it right now. Besides," he broke her grip around him and brought her to his side, wrapping a long arm protectively around her shoulders without breaking his stare out into the streets, "you've got thousands, tens of thousands of people willing to fight to protect you and the village, me being one of them, and I alone should be enough to get the job done."

Tsunade smiled, "Yeah, because you going solo went _so _well last time," she said in a voice just dripping with sarcasm.

"My point is," he continued with a chuckle," you're never going to go through something like that again. I swear."

Tsunade closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in the smell that was so obviously Jiraiya, a strangely smoky smell mixed with something like coffee. He smelled like home, familiar, safe, and most of all, a place that she's always happy to come back to. There was a strong reassuring sound to his words, and she knew he was dead serious about them even if he sounded lax about it all. Yes, he would risk his everything he had to protect her, without a doubt, and she couldn't ask for anyone better to be her guardian.

Or, should she say, her white knight. Parading around in bright armor and watching her every move, always ready to swoop in and save her, ride her to safety on his sturdy steed…

Okay, maybe he didn't walk around, stalking her dutifully like a moving statue, and maybe his mighty steed was actually a very bitchy giant toad, and maybe he wasn't looked up by parents who want their kids growing up to be just like him, but hell, no one's perfect. Besides, he'd be no fun if he went about with a stick up his ass twenty-four-seven.

She melted into him, pressing as close as she could and hugging him to her tightly like she was afraid he would blow away at any second. They stood in silence, quietly admiring the sun as it set. She got lost in his deep onyx eyes and he drowned in her creamy gold ones, and there wasn't anything that needed to be said. The whole world stopped around them as they bathed in the warm embrace of the gentle yellow rays that whispered warm words onto their skin, the gentle breeze that picked up through the open window as night began to set in whirled softly around them. Everything was right in the world for now, the angels sang down and could be heard from the heavens above, the birds chirped sweetly so that all could hear them joyously play, and the koi fish swam lazily through the pond's clear and cool waters without creating ripples in the reflective surface. There were no wolves howling painfully up at the moon, there were no mice scampering in the dark and wet sewers, hiding from the scrutinizing eyes of humans. There was only the two of them, there, holding each other and silently swearing to never let go again, to never let even the most powerful of forces tear them apart, because there is not one without the other.

And they stayed like that until the moon rose high and the festival lights drew their attention away from their thoughts, but the promises were forever ingrained into their hearts and souls.


End file.
